The Deed to Beautiful

Day 15 of the Best Self Edison Deck Challenge is a random card asking for the "most beautiful things you own." The drill is to list the 10 things that come to mind in 10 minutes. Frankly, this card has sat on my desk for days as I pondered, "Can beauty be owned?" In order to move forward, this is the first card that I chose to amend, so my list consists of the ten most beautiful things that I have the opportunity to enjoy. You'll see why I changed the prompt and I'd be curious to know if you think beauty is owned, borrowed, or enjoyed?

1. Jewelry with a message: Different people have gifted me jewelry that acts as a talisman. They come from my sister, daughter, friends, family and are engraved, stamped or etched. They manifest as rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets and cuffs with messages that empower me on any particular day I wear them. A "magic" ring, a necklace of "hope", a silver bangle with "You are a badass" etched on the inside, a cuff with "Wonder Woman" stamped next to the metal that touches my skin, my marathon times stamped on different charms that hang from a silver chain, an infinity bracelet with "courage, honesty, loyalty, integrity, tolerance, wisdom, strength" stamped as a constant reminder of what it takes to build character, and a light silver wristlet with glyphs on the outside and "invisible girl" engraved on the inside.

2. From my mother: With a continued focus on jewelry, I have a few pieces that were passed down to me or I reclaimed upon my mother’s death. One is a simple ring that has a dark almost black garnet (her birthstone) set in silver. For many this ring would not turn heads, but it reminds me of her, her square hands which she was always self-conscious of, and a rectangular stone that is set just to remind one that sometimes beauty is simple. I also wear a reclaimed talisman that I gave to her. It is a wolf's claw set in filligree silver that I purchased for her in Mongolia. As I was bartering for it, the vendor refused to sell it to me when he learned that it was for my mother. It was a hunter's charm for good luck and should only be worn by men. I nodded as if I understood, paid more than I should have, and felt gleeful when I gifted it to the strongest person I knew, my mother. She used to tell me when she wore it her cat would attempt to grab it with it's teeth and animals would follow her. I took it back after her death as a reminder that hunters come in all genders and strength is passed from daughter to mother and back again.

3. Photographs from my childhood: I have two photographs framed on my bedroom wall. They look as if they came out of a Polaroid commercial or a "Mad Men" episode. One is of me and my sister with a family dog (beagle) sitting on our suburban lawn, and the other one is of me and my brother sitting on the railing in front of our house. I am wearing pedal pushers, loafers with white anklets and a teal cropped button up shirt and my brother has his hair in a slicked back crew cut with a plaid bowling shirt and trousers that preceded khakis. They remind me of the moments of innocence and comraderie that got us through the good times and tough times of our childhood.

4. My dog Luka: I don't think you own a pet (some would argue that the pet owns you), but you care for and nurture them. Yes, Luka is a COVID-19 pup who came into my life to help deal with the isolation and loneliness that that those of us that found ourselves living alone endured during multiple shelter in place periods. He is a mini-Aussie (official name "In Love With Luka" taking after his sire "Smitten With Samson") who is smart, social, and mischieviously loving. He is a ghost-eyed dog (heterochromia) with one brown eye and one blue eye. There are some indigenous teachings that believe that the brown eye sees to the earth and the blue sees to the heavens. He also has a split face - his freckled country personality on display with his right profile and his sleek blue-eyed ebony sophisticate profile to the left. He is always ready to greet both people and dogs alike, much like Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast in his best tux-like attire. Coincidentally his name means "light" in Croatian just as Lumiere means "light" in French. He's beautiful and he knows it.

5. Generosity: My family members are beautifully generous in every way. It is not something I own but something I have been gifted, endowed, and blessed with.

6. A framed photograph of my First Friday friends: Five women plus me have been meeting regularly (with a few adjustments) for over three decades the first Friday of every month. I have a framed photograph of the six of us sitting on my dresser, taken at a weekend retreat. It is a beautiful reminder of enduring friendship that has seen us through relationships, career transitions, motherhood, death, and illness. And still we are six women going strong.

7. My 12 Archetypes: Some rely on the twelve apostles, the twelve signs of the zodiac, the twelve months of the year, or the twelve stations of the sun and moon. During the pandemic, I took up painting, encouraged by a gift from my dear friend Mary, and ended up painting twelve powerful archetypes to keep me safe and centered. They hang on my wall as a reminder that I am never truly alone. Their beauty is not in the painting, but in the gifts they give me every day.

8. Made by hand: I have some beautiful items that were created lovingly by people in my life who took the time to customize a meaningful gift: a wooden hand mirror and jewelery box made by my husband, a photograph of a suspension foot bridge beckoning one to cross taken by my daughter, a painting sent by a friend. They are thoughtful, precious, and beautiful.

9. Career moments: I have had some deep and meaningful career paths and when I left one organization to go to another, I have thoughtful momentos of my time: a gold link bracelet symbolizing we are always connected, a patchwork quilt made from the costume fabric of all the productions during my tenure interwoven with long-enduring silk, Siegfried's sword "Nothung" whose power is only wielded by he/she who has no fear, and a First Nations paddle signifying the path of unity and shared leadership. They help me remember the indelible relationships that endure long after the work we do together.

10. A bowl-backed Mandolin: In 2014, I received a mandolin for my birthday. No, at that time I did not play the mandolin, but I felt a calling to learn. I love how it is beautifully balanced, how it feels in my hands, and how it beckons to me from the wall where it hangs waiting to be played. I love how it can play blue grass, opera, folk tunes from Italy, Greece or any country you can name, and how it is both simple and complicated at the same time. And what's even better, it reminds me of one of my favorite, beautifully written books, "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" by Louis de Bernières.