Searching

What exactly is it that I'm looking for?  Inspiration, maybe.  Certainly nothing more tangible!

We used to go ‘window shopping’, wandering past the bricks-and-mortar outlets (we called them simply ‘shops’) and staring at the displays in the hopes that something would catch our attention, proclaim itself the ‘perfect’ gift.

Searching online is different; it is almost impossible to replicate the experience of window shopping.  The internet is an ocean of things but they are all ephemeral, impossible to grasp, bewildering in their variety.  Just how big is that going to be?  Is that the real colour?  What will that feel like?  There is a lot to be said for being able to see and handle objects ‘in the flesh’.

On the other hand, a search request such as ‘birthday gifts for women over 60’ can throw up some interesting ideas, ones you might never have thought of otherwise.  Experience days, artisan sweets, a coffee subscription – although the prices of these things can be eye-watering!

Ironically, the internet is probably best known for its bargains.  Being able to source goods directly from a supplier, without the ‘middle-person’ of the shop, can bring down the cost considerably.

It is also an excellent way of supporting independent producers that you might not otherwise have access to.  As long as your conscience feels that outweighs the environmental cost of transporting individual items over great distances, of course.

And all of these thoughts go through my mind while I’m trying to find the ‘perfect’ gift for my mother’s birthday.  She is not a fussy or demanding person by any means.  In fact, it might be easier if she were!  She is at the point of life where she has just about all the things she needs, and she is the kind of person who keeps wants to a minimum.

Just what do you buy the woman who has everything?!

I sigh and return to the computer screen.  As I scroll idly through the various delights on offer, I wonder just why I am sitting here, not working, searching through these pictures.  Of course, we are encouraged to stay indoors as much as possible at the moment – sanitise, face mask, avoid people, rinse and repeat – but fresh air is also seen as a good thing.  Why not go and do a little old-fashioned window shopping?  Or even ‘actual’ shopping?

The answer hits me before I am fully out of my chair.  Because I could not get into town and back in my lunch break.  I sit back down, deflated.

I go back to scrolling and another thought hits me.  Would it be so terrible to take an extended lunch for once?  After all, it is not as if I am being very productive right now.  I have managed to ignore my to do list for most of the morning, already; what would another hour or two matter, really?

And my half-hearted searching has at least given me some ideas, a place to start.  Coffee is not a good idea, but tea would be; there is a newish shop that sells exotic teas that would be worth a look – and they sell teapots, too.  Cake always goes well with tea and there are loads of places that sell hand-made cakes.

I am getting into my coat before I really know that I have decided to go out.  Apparently, my brain is extremely fed up with being cooped up indoors.  There really is no going back, now.  I grab my bag and my keys and walk out of the front door.  The sense of release is almost physical.  Perhaps this is what I have actually been searching for – a few moments of freedom.

The car promises to take me directly to town, but the outdoors is asking me to enjoy its pleasures.  I will go to the local shopping area, in particular that really nice little cake shop that must be desperate for custom at the moment.  They even sell bags of loose tea, I remember, so I might be able to get everything in one go after all.  And then I'll pop into the card shop and pick something out.

Searching for inspiration has suddenly become much simpler.