Two things happened recently that didn’t feel related at the time, but in hindsight, I’m not so sure.
1) I finished a PeanutMark blogpost about how caregivers must prioritize self care before they can best look after anyone else. In my essay, I also admit that saying is waaaaay easier than doing, and that I am not good at following my own advice. I’m sure this isn’t a surprise to anyone though, right?
2) I recently started working with two strands of rhodochrosite that I purchased solely because they called to me. Truth be told, I didn’t even know the stone’s name when it found me at the Tucson Gem Show. I have since learned, however, that this pinky/peachish gem with swoopy white and gray swirls promotes self love, compassion, and acceptance. Often referred to as the stone for a compassionate heart, rhodochrosite is well suited for any caregiver who needs supportive energy to prioritize their own needs and overall self care.
Looking in the retrospectoscope, I now know why I was attracted to rhodochrosite while in Tucson. At that time, my caregiver stress was pretty high, and I spent a fair amount of energy solving issues via text and phone calls. None of the problems were new, but they still needed attention. I tried to journal my thoughts while I was in Tucson, but wasn’t able to. It was only recently that I felt a call to try and write again about caregiving for clarity and understanding. Once I did, my blogpost started to take shape, and the rhodochrosite reappeared to find its way onto my workbench.
I originally chose two different rhodochrosite bead shapes, round ones and handcut stars. The round stones are more grayish overall, making the sterling silver findings a lovely match.
The stars, however, are definitely more pinkish, and these looked amazing on gold filled wire. I couldn’t be happier with how the stones decided to dress themselves up.
The majority of I AMuleTs** that I offer online are sterling silver, but I often make gold filled ones for local, in person art fair events. Because there were only nine rhodochrosite stars on the strand that I found, I’ve decided to offer them online with a gold filled eye/I charm and chain. If you already have an I AMuleT, but would like to add either the round or star shaped talisman pendant to your collection, you certainly can. Look for the talisman only option on the rhodochrosite I AMuleT page.
As you can see, I’ve started wearing a rhodochrosite talisman on my own gold filled I AMuleT to remind myself how important self love and self care are to my caregiver responsibilities. Here it is currently paired with my I AM FOCUSED fluorite talisman. Maybe this combination speaks to you, too?
** For those of you who haven’t found one yet, I AMuleTs are a necklace I created in 2016. Each piece combines an evil eye image with an I AM affirmation and a related gemstone talisman. I AMuleTs are also special because they are designed for easy switching of pendants depending on what affirmation you want to focus on each day.
