22/01/2026
I thought I’d lost £10. And for a short while, I was genuinely at peace with that.
I’d gone out to collect something from a seamstress. The work was £5. I know she’s had a difficult time recently, so I’d taken £10 with me, planning not to ask for change.
Somewhere along the way, that note slipped out of my pocket. I realised a little later that it must have happened when I took my phone out to photograph a particularly badly parked car.
When I arrived, the £10 wasn’t there.
So I followed through on my intention anyway and paid her £10 by card. She was grateful. It felt good. Simple. Clean.
As I walked away, I found myself thinking, whoever finds that note probably needs it more than I do.
About twenty minutes later, on my way back, I walked past the same car. And there it was. The £10 note, lying on the ground near where the car had been parked. Slightly damp, but intact. Thank you, waterproof UK banknotes.
I laughed. And then I caught myself saying, “Well, isn’t that interesting.”
Not panic. Not self-criticism. Not the usual inner voice having a field day. Just curiosity. And a genuine surprise at how anchored that response has become for me.
Nothing dramatic followed. No grand moral. Just a quiet reminder that intention has a life of its own. That generosity doesn’t disappear when circumstances change. And that sometimes, when we meet life with curiosity rather than judgement, it meets us back with a small moment of grace.
I came home a little lighter.
And somehow, £10 better off than I expected.