Lifeline beaded bracelet
F. beaded this memory wire bracelet during an art therapy group. Memory wire is perfect for beginning jewelers and hard to mess up. The wire is spiraled and remembers that it is spiraled. No tricky clasps or toggles needed. It also is an apt metaphor for the idea of a life timeline, a visual story, a bead memory.
Each single bead represents a year in the life of this artist. Some years a small single bead says it best. For other years, larger beads, including evil eyes and handmade Czech glass beads, mark the big events. Childhood trauma, an alcoholic mother, a wedding, the birth of two sons, family deaths, his affair, her affairs, a DUI, hospitalizations, inpatient treatments and a bad car wreck line up in a one-of-a-kind bracelet.
There is something healing about honoring and remembering one’s life in this way. And there is no denying that this bracelet paints a picture of a colorful life; a life where the bad stuff not only has a place, but where it adds depth and richness to the overall piece.
Believe it or not, the very things that send us crashing to our bottoms (our addictions and unmanageable lives) may serve us in recovery. Not only does it prepare us to help others, it also makes us who we are. In fact we eventually become grateful for every mistake, every wound and every bad relationship. Without them we would not seek help, we would not reclaim our lives and we would not seek connection with a higher power.
Our history is a beautiful part of our recovery. Just ask F. She receives compliments on her bracelet every time she wears it.
Copyright 2012 jasmilam