Take it or leave it.

A few days ago one of my nearest and dearest friends and I were talking about the arrival of my birthday present.

I was gifted a set of mala beads from Two Golden Frogs on Etsy by this particular friend.
My whole fascination/interest was sparked by this blog.

The whole scenario lead to an interesting conversation about our individual personalities.

My friend has an "all or nothing" personality type which I admire because her devotion to a subject or interest is so intense that she becomes an expert. Her example, "I couldn't just be a christian, no, I had to be a missionary!"
Me? I'm the complete opposite. I think, for better or worse, my interest or devotion to a subject is limited to what I find useful or interesting and I tend to leave the rest. Some may call it flighty, I call it realistic. This is probably why I never did well with church. I use to feel bad about it but in recent years there's been a shift in my thinking.

Ever since I stumbled across Kris Carr I've started adapting my way of thinking about life, religion, health, & wellness. Her "take what works and leave the rest" approach has had me on friendlier terms with myself then ever.  Sometimes I think you just have to have someone else validate what you've known works for you all along.

For the time being I like to think of my birthday present as more of worry beads then prayer beads because that's what works for me, right now. It gives me a place to put my anxiety/fear/frustration and let go. Ideally I'd like to incorporate them into a regular meditation practice but first they have a greater purpose.

Or as I told my friend, "Rules smules... things only have what value you place in them. And besides they are pretty necklaces if nothing else."