Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~Albert Einstein
With the reds and greens of Christmas all around us, I thought it was time to discuss the beautiful salmon and green colored gemstone called Unakite.
8 mm round Unakite beads
I just realized it’s been awfully long since I posted pictures of the jewelry I’ve been beading, so let’s remedy that, shall we?
If you’re not into beads or jewelry or creativity, that’s okay. We don’t all have the same interests. You can skip reading right now.
Sure, you’ll hurt my feelings, but I’ll get over it. As Henry Rollins said, “Being an artist is dragging your innermost feelings out, giving a piece of yourself, no matter in which art form, in which medium.”
Just don’t leave forever, ‘k? Come back and join us next time, when I’m not writing about beads!
Still here? Great — thanks, and let’s get right to it.
When the husband of a friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer several months ago, I started pondering ways I could help.
Other than prayer, which I immediately did. And still do.
Luckily, Suzicate posted a blog about creativity, making a strand of prayer/meditation beads, and it hit me — I can do that!
As a Catholic and “beader”, I regularly make Rosaries. But my friend’s husband isn’t Catholic. And I never try to push my religion onto others.
Nor was I comfortable promoting the Buddhist philosophy.
Still, I firmly believe God put everything here on Earth that we need. Even rocks.
The Bible tells us God instructed His people to use certain stones — including jasper, agate, sapphire, and carnelian — when making the temple high priest’s clothing. And the Book of Revelation indicates the new temple will be constructed in Jerusalem using many of these same stones.
Do I believe gemstones, in and of themselves, heal? No, of course not.
Do I believe God can use gemstones to bring about healing? Definitely. He’s God; He can use whatever instrument He chooses.
So I designed and crafted a strand of healing beads. Not a bracelet, but a string of about eight inches long, consisting of semiprecious beads that supposedly have healing properties.
Stones like Flourite (to fortify bones), Howlite (to balance calcium levels), and Jasper (to ease emotional stresses).
On either end of my strand, I attached a simple Chinese coin, which traditionally is a feng shui money cure. Not that this man is suffering from lack of funds, but cancer treatments are expensive, and every little bit of “luck” helps!
Before I took the beads to him, I thought hard about what message I was sending. I didn’t want to mislead him by offering false hope, nor did I want to confuse him about Who is really in charge here.
So I told him some people call them worry beads. Others refer to them as prayer beads. Whatever we choose to call them, and whether they actually work, probably depends on our frame of mind. And the will of our Creator.
He was thrilled with my gift! He sat for a long while, fingering the beads and trying to memorize from my cheat-sheet which was which stone and their metaphysical properties.
Of course he’s undergoing traditional treatment. But if something as simple as gemstones can ease his mind during this difficult time, that’s a good thing, don’t you agree?
It rained and stormed much of yesterday.
Yuck — boring.
So, I decided to pass some time doing one of my favorite hobbies — beading jewelry.
There’s something wonderfully relaxing about rolling different shaped beads between your fingers. About matching (or contrasting) different textures and colors. About fashioning glass and stones and metals into earrings, bracelets, or necklaces.
And it’s fabulous having unique pieces to wear! When I get tired of something, I just break it apart and re-create it into something else. Or make something new to go with a new outfit. Or “copy” a cool design I saw in a magazine, giving it my own special touch.
I’m surprised at how many compliments I’ve gotten on my handmade creations, too. People tell me I should open up a little business, maybe on the Interwebs, and sell my stuff.
I don’t know. That sounds like a lot of work.
I’d have to line everything up, take individual pictures (of hundreds of items!), edit those pictures, design a Website (complete with shopping cart for orders), monitor the incoming orders, package the orders, ship the orders, handle any customer complaints — gosh, I get bleary-eyed just thinking about it!
I think I’ll stick with Web design and writing.
But for those interested in what I came up with, here’s a photo:
This is a Y necklace with a silver lobster-claw fastener. It measures 22 inches around the neck, with a four-inch “tail.” I used a combination of green Russian jade, tiger’s eye, pink zebra jasper, and fire-polished crystals, interspersed with mostly silver spacer beads.
Musings by an ND Domer's Mom 