On my walk home from my chiropractor session yesterday, I came across this bag of apples that a neighbour had left on the wall outside their house.

‘Please take’, the note said.

It was a delightful surprise. A wonderful kind of generosity – no explanations or expectations, no strings attached, no effort. Just an anonymous desire to share the bounty with others.

I slipped one in my pocket to take home, as a treat for Rosie with her lunch.

As I finished walking home, I wondered: both about giving and taking.

What am I putting out into the world with the simple offer of ‘Please take’? Is there more I can give in this way – not with effort or control, but with the simple gesture of releasing it into the world.

What am I taking with the simple gratitude and openness that let me take this apple? So much has been offered to me, and it’s wonderful to take a moment to honour those gifts. Can I accept these with the same grace; without apology or self-denial?

I find it so easy to assume that I am taking too much. Particularly from the people I care about. I am unfamiliar with uncomplicated acceptance. For much of my life, I branded myself a thief for the act of taking – even whtn the gift was offered – and push gifts away.

Yet the more I can inhabit a place of open gratitude, and accept with open arms what is being given, the richer my life is, and the stronger my bonds are to the source of the gift – be that a friend, a stranger, or life itself.

Please take.

What other treasures is the world offering that are simply there for the taking?

Am I walking slowly enough to notice them, or am I simply zipping by?

Can I see these moments without needing a sign?