I don't know if you can really read what this necklace says, but this piece of jewelry means the world to me. I had seen it at this wonderful store in Athens called HELIX which is pretty much hands down the coolest (bold statement I know). Anyway, just in case you can't read it the necklace says "I want to be forever the me that greets change with open arms and heart."
In the beginning, this necklace stood out to me purely for aesthetic reasons. It was simple and had two charms with writing on them. That was all I really needed. So I went to HELIX and saw it, immediately called my mom to tell her that I had found this wonderful necklace that I just loved and was wondering if she would take a look at it and consider purchasing it. Well, she was out and about and near HELIX that afternoon coincidently. She gave me a call after she looked at it, and after a few minutes of explanation, she came to the conclusion that "it was wonderful but a little bit too pricey." No worries I said, and it never re-entered my thoughts. Well, that evening we were at a family friend's house for a cookie decorating party, and as my mom and I were walking out of their home to say our goodbye's, I got to my car and on my front seat was a little box. And in the box was the necklace. That is the kind of treasure my mom is.
So here it is. It is a necklace that I have worn almost every single day since I got it my freshman year of college. Almost 6 years. And I love every piece of what it represents. But the quote engraved on it began to take on a real meaning for me once I entered into nursing school.
Greeting change with open arms and heart. Huh, seems like a relatively easy thing to do. My life is always changing in wonderful ways--but nursing school was the first time that change entered my life in a very painful way. All of a sudden I was asked to take on a certain strength that I didn't have before. A resilience that I didn't know I had within me. I was forced to be courageous and spiritual, I had to all of a sudden learn to cope, I had to become a warrior. This necklace was my armor. This necklace gave me that sheer force of determination to know that change whether good or bad is part of life.
Our lives are constantly full of change and reform. As I said in my very first post, we are evolving daily. Each person in this world changes with every rise and fall of the sun. It is our job to adhere to that change, embrace it with love. I know that for me I still to a certain extent struggle with the prospect of change. 2008 for me has been my most fierce test in the sense that the change sprung on me has genuinely forced me to surrender to unpredictability. And I did surrender to it, instead of trying to control it (like I have tried to do for so many years), and live under the assumption that me and my life as an entity were unshakable. So here it is.
I find myself quite the opposite from invincible. I find that my shell is fragile but my core is strong. I have the ability with each day to know that no moment is mine to control and that change is a part of it. I wear this necklace with so many emotions. This necklace is a daily reminder of my mother. This necklace motivates me to be a giver in my relationships. This necklace allows me to embrace change with serenity. And when people ask, I am excited to tell them what it says and how it has "changed" my life.
Don't be afraid of change that comes. Instead of fearing it and attempting to escape it, embrace and welcome it. Change makes us who we are and teaches us one of the most valuable of life's lessons.
No comments:
Post a Comment