In this Tradition

EDIT - This post was scheduled to go off into the land of the interweb yesterday.  I'm not sure if I fucked up or if the time change fucked it, but either way, the intent was there!  (Also, sidebar, this time change.  Ye Gahds, it takes me weeks to figure out what time it is.)

I have a bracelet made of red string and Swavorksi crystals that Efed gifted me last spring after her trip to Morocco.  On the bracelet is a hamsa, and I’ve been wearing it every day since she gave it to me, not just as ward, but also as a reminder.

Keeping something tied around my wrist provided me the chance to remember why I started this journey in the first place.  Sure, a hamsa might not be the most readily associated symbol with personal growth, but for me it’s important.  On so, on my right wrist it stayed over last spring, into summer and cabrewing, festivals and shows.  Was with me for November residency and the holidays.

Yesterday, I took it off for the first time.  In the Sikh tradition, one wears a kara, a bracelet made of steel to remind him/her of his/her commitment to the path and the faith.  In many ways, the hamsa bracelet I wore was my kara.  And for many reasons, I realized yesterday that it was time to change the way I view my path, and change the way I walk it.  That’s not to say I’m throwing in the towel with this whole gig; but rather, that I recognize personal growth when it hits me in the face, and well.  It just felt right to take it off.  

Since mid-afternoon yesterday, my wrist has been free.  And with that, it seems that I am as well.   This might be way too granola for many folks, and that’s okay.  It’s what works for me.  And, knowing I have a bona-fide kara on the way from India is an added bonus too.