Special Objects

I love to read the shutter sister blog, and last week I read a post about a magical sand dollar.  The post questioned the reader, what objects have a special meaning to you?  I really had to think about this, because I am a little bit of a hoarder....not a serious hoarder, but I keep more nick-nacks then I really need to.   I tried to narrow it down to my most special objects.  I narrowed it down to five, which is a lot.

This is my beloved class ring.  I have worn it almost everyday for the last nine years.  I went to boarding school for highschool, as a day student though so I still lived at home.  I love all of the scratches and blemishes, I wasn't too pleased when I got the first one, but it shows how loved my ring is. It reminds me of a warn baby blanket, loved to pieces.  I know this ring will follow me through life.

This necklace is only a few years old, I went to china in 2010 and my father bought me this jade Buddha necklace.  It is always cool to the touch, and when I get stressed I tend to rub its belly.  It is a daily reminder to keep calm and carry on.

This little pouch holds three of my special objects and is always in my purse or close to me.

This is my rosary, and it fits very nicely into my palm.  When I get stressed I love to hold it in my hands and it grounds me.  It lets me know that there is a bigger picture, that I will fail...often...but that everyday I can strive to do better.  I received this rosary in college, and I used to do the rosary most days, now it is a rare occurence to sit down and go through the entire rosary.  As you can see it has broken from overuse, but my mother took a small pearl and grafted it in.  

This is my Japa Mala, they are Hindu prayer beads.  The rosary is more of a contemplative object, you would use them to contemplate the mysteries of our faith.  This japa mala is good if I just want to pray the lords prayer over and over, or with a mantra.  Sometimes I'll just repeat, "if you will it" or "love always" for each bead.

My mother made these prayer beads for me, and with each bead that she attached she said a prayer for me.  All the beads are dark black and metallic, except for her favorite mosaic, pastel bead.  When I look at these beads, I know how much my mother and my family love me.  I'll use these to say my prayers, or to say my mantras quietly throughout my day, as they are small and fit nicely into my palm.

So these are my magical, powerful, favorite objects.  They are usually all with me at all times, and give me great peace.