Making Peace (the ring)

"What you focus on grows, what you think about expands, and what you dwell upon determines your destiny." -- Robin Sharma


There isn't much about facebook that appeals to me. I used to love it; I was addicted. But like most reformed smokers (drinkers, addicts), when you give up the addiction, you see all the ways in which it was harmful. Last month, a friend's account was hacked and another friend had money stolen, via the hacker. I've had some random folks peek into my account, send uncomfortable emails, and do general stalker-like behavior. Two years ago, someone who claimed to be connected to me through my ex-husband (my ex-husband, to his credit, told me he didn't know the person and to be careful) sent me a friend request, opened a dialogue, and then wouldn't stop harassing me with pop-up chats. However, as I was preparing to shut down my personal account, something really great happened because of il volto libro. It's almost as if the universe was rewarding me for paring down my virtual activity. I found a peace ring.


On facebook, these photos come up in the corner of the page that say something like "people you may know." One of those people was the mother of my son's classmate, Emily. I noticed on her page a link to a peace cuff ring on etsy. I asked her if she was an etsian, and she told me that her dad was, and that it was his shop, Woodside Studios. I immediately fell in love with the peace ring. I've been looking for a big silver ring just like this one, and love that it's a hand hammered peace sign. It reminds me, constantly, to maintain a peaceful existence whenever possible. The ring, however, wasn't my size. Apparently, finding one's own peace requires asking some questions and knowing what you want.


I started a conversation on etsy with her dad, Jer, and asked if he could make me the same ring in my size. He agreed. This was less than a week ago. Not only was he kind to me and easy to do business with, but he was fast. Today (I am writing this on President's Day) the ring came via UPS. I hadn't expected it so quickly!


I unpacked the shipping box, got down to the actual ring box and there it was. To my surprise, it was even more beautiful in person. The silver is hammered and super shiny, it's nice and solid, and wouldn't you know, it fits me perfectly. I normally only get my silver and gold from Tiffany & Co. or Sundance Catalog (W gets me my rings from Sundance, too), and my Woodside Studios ring is that level of quality. I cannot say enough about this ring, and I've got my eye on a hammered rings cuff bracelet that would go really well with it.


Everything is symbolic to me. At the Love Art winter shop, I bought two handmade bracelets from my friend Deb who was selling Designs by Gal Pals. One of them is a green wooden beaded bracelet with a red peace sign on it. That's two peace signs in two days. While I did make the purchases (I mean, it wasn't exactly random), something about me finding them both right around this time makes it feel a little more special. 


Last year was a rough year for me, the year of bad crap, and when it ended I decided that the drama, the health issues, and the sorrow would stay behind, as well. I had heard that this year in the Chinese calendar was going to be a better one, but hadn't seen any predominant evidence of that in my life. I realized that it was because my life had become quite peaceful.  


Ah, peace.