Talismans


In my perfect Eden, I would be an artist. All day I would write and craft. I would write whatever and whenever the inspiration struck - for however long I wanted.

My crafts would be handmade trinkets for people that I care about - nothing museum quality, but certainly able to be “lovingly” displayed. Reading and writing are my first love and my oldest friend. No matter the menagerie of amazing people that make up my friends, I will always crave that kinship I have with the written page.


There are several projects I have created for friends that I am proud of - little pieces of my adoration graphically displayed. One such piece actually returned to me in a way, and is keeping me company here in Japan.

ND was having an important birthday, one that deserved a special gift. Like me, she would be happier to receive a funky handbag or a well worn, but loved, book, over something expensive and shiny. What made the quest for a fabulous gift all the more difficult is that ND is the “it” girl. She has a crazy, bohemian style that I could never pull off but makes her look fabulous. Everything she cooks, which she creates in her head, turns out delicious. Her “messy” home is always the perfect mixture of chaos and comfort that allows complete relaxation.

I ended up creating a piece of art for her, one that was all about her. It was a little cabinet filled with miniature things representative of her and our times together. I really liked the outcome. What I liked more was that she did something similar for me. On a visit with her between trips to Japan she produced a small bag. Inside of this green, silk bag were many trinkets - or talismans as I know now to call them. She had gone and gathered little things that were to become the physical reminder of our friendship. She also gave me a book - with a bookmarked passage. It goes like this:


“...Amulets, talismans, and charms abound in the lives of everyone in every time and place. They are physical signs of relationships with people and places and experiences. They are symbols of connection and reconnection, union and reunion with what is sacred to us.”

-Robert Fulghum


I have since removed the items from the bag and created a little display of them, along with a few other things that are important to me. Now, the top two shelves of my bookshelf are a little collection of talismans; a place that I can look to for a reminder of many of the paths I have crossed. At the end, these little things, these ticketstubs to my life, while small, with be the greatest measure of my achievements.

I love you ND! Thank you for the gift. I treasure it.




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