Importance of Small Treasures

or, another difference between manspeak and womanspeak

As I was out doing errands on Friday night, I felt the odd sensation of something slithering down my neck.

Since it was well below zero with wind chill, I knew the odds of it being a bug were pretty much slim and none. With a gulp and a sinking feeling, I snatched at my neck with a flash of what it must be. I was right - my necklace had broken.

But this was no ordinary necklace. You see, it had only been in my possession for less than a week. It was a gift from one of my guy friends, one who is incredibly observant about anything that goes along with a female whether or not he's "involved" with them.

So, in the bottom of my Christmas gift bag, I found a tiny, square box.

What made this bit of jewelry important was threefold: First of all, I love nice jewelry...stuff that doesn't make my skin turn green!!! Secondly, my spouse has apparently forgotten that it's nice to be remembered on birthdays and other special occasions and I was feeling saddened since I've apparently outlived the gifting phenomenon. As my gift to him, I chose to give him a plasma television - he wouldn't pick one out before Christmas so I could buy it for him, but the promise of it is there.

Third - my friend noticed that I no longer wore a particular piece of jewelry which I'd been wearing for ten years. He asked me about it. I clenched my jaw and explained the situation. And kept from weeping in the process. His keen observation of the missing item was primarily due to his noticing in the past that I constantly touched the former piece of jewelry; it was my way to touch someone - the giver - who lived far away from me. It had originally placed around my neck by his hands, and matched the one he wore. My romantic side felt that it was a symbolic gesture of our hearts touching even though we were miles apart. I'm sure any of you males who are reading this are rolling your eyes and muttering, "Oh brother...". Too bad. Deal with it!

You see, I think most of us in the female persuasion consider jewelry one of the most important items that can be given. Perhaps it's due to past life experiences as a female in which our only wealth in many cultures might have been the gold coins or jewelry that were given to us. Heaven knows we weren't allowed to own property, but were instead considered property!

We don't always "read" things into such a gift, turning them into romance or riches. Sometimes jewelry is just that - a gift with no intention behind it other than care and concern. I'd venture to guess, too, that the symbolism of the gift was unknown.

But, the selection of this tiny piece of gold was absolutely appropriate to the circumstances.

The tiny pendant is a butterfly, fragile and exquisite. Yet,in reality, a butterfly can migrate for hundreds of miles in its quest to survive. The pendant is embedded with citrine, a stone which is considered my birthstone, but is also a stone considered to repel negativity. And, as I showed this gift to a co-worker, she muttered something about "butterflies and tsunamis". I didn't know what she was talking about, so I looked it up. The phrase came from a comment about something known as the Butterfly Theory:

It is said that even the smallest step one takes in his/her life can change the course of said life immensely. The name of this theory came to be when a meteorologist, whose name was Lorenz spoke about the Chaos Theory. Ultimately, what he said was paraphrased into "It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world."

And so, the gift becomes a symbol of what the past brought forth, and the promise and hope of changes yet to come. The broken chain has been temporarily replaced and I'll continue to wear it proudly. But, now, as I touch it, the symbolism will be those of what was, what is, and what will be.