Thursday, July 09, 2009

a delicate reminder

from anongrrl via etsy

i came across these tags today on etsy. aren't they wonderful? i'm always drawn to jewelry that uses inspirational words and phrases. it combines my love of the delicate, artistic object with the need for a reminder, a talisman of what i'm striving for in my day-to-day life. not that different from a Christian wearing a cross, or a Jew wearing a cross of David, i guess. i once made a bracelet for myself out of wire and a Shrinky-Dink type substance that said "breathe." it wasn't super-elegant (and i seem to recall it digging into my wrist), but it really did help, in the middle of an overwhelming day, to look down at my wrist for a reminder to do just that.

BREATHE.

oh!!! riiiiiiiiight.

seeing these tags got me thinking about what phrases and words i'd like to put on my own jewelry:

i (heart) butter.

this too shall pass

i am a size (infinity symbol).

sometimes, the most empowering thing a girl can do is eat
(from a N.O.W. t-shirt)

wear life like a loose garment (Ghandi)

now, please.

what would your talisman say?

9 comments:

Christie @ Quit Your Diet said...

Mine would say one of two things:

I love and accept myself

or

I am who I want to be.

I say those things to myself often to remind myself that it doesn't have to be the way it always has been.

margaux said...

oh... i really like "i am who i want to be." so much freedom and power in that statement.

now.is.now said...

I also love jewelry that says phrases. I have written phrases on rocks and kept them in my pockets. The most recent ones have been:

"Who cares?" (Inspired by a friend saying 'who cares' to me after I was freaking out about having eaten a handful of M 'n Ms. She wasn't being mean about it. But after she said that I was like, "Right?! Who does care?! Why does this matter?!)

"What might doing the same thing mean?" (As a way to get me to realize that responding to anything/everything by restricting is unproductive and ultimately leads to bingeing for me).

"Why not try a different thing?" (Also as a way to get me to find the courage to not restrict or to not feel guilty etc. etc.)

Other sayings I'd like to put on jewelry:

"Trust yourself."

"Be reasonable."

"What's effective?"

I Hate to Weight said...

"i am a good person."

(it's hard to even write that. i'm embarrassed to even think it. and i'm embarrassed that i'm embarrassed.)

I Hate to Weight said...

to be worn in rotation with -- "i am not a number on a scale"

great question!

margaux said...

amazing how powerful "who cares" is,
now.is.now! it really IS true. immediately puts things in perspective.

thank you for your honesty, hate to weight. so hard to compliment ourselves, isn't it? i think you need 2 bangle bracelets with your sayings on them that you can wear simultaneously. their tinkling together will be a constant (and beautiful) reminder.

reminds me of stories i've heard about girls sewing jingle bells into their crinolines in the '50s. how can you take anything too seriously when you jingle everywhere you go?

Danielle Filas said...

I want to steal everyone else's. Driving back from lunch with my Hubby today, this popped in my head...
"If you'll laugh at this in 50 years, why not start laughing now?"
Probably too long for a tag...
I've always liked "Life is a verb"
Great post!

margaux said...

ha HA, danielle! i think the "50 years" quote would fit beautifully on a bracelet. it could go aaallll the way around. i've always liked "love is a verb," but AY-men, sister, "life" is too.

tc said...

i know where my tape measure is.