I have a necklace I made for myself a few years ago. The center stone is an oval shaped amethyst just over an inch long, with a Chinese dragon etched on it.
I don't wear it very often. I made it at a time when I had a lot of personal struggles going on, it helped me then and now I only wear it when I need a little extra strength for the fight ahead. There is nothing mystical about the stone; it holds no extraordinary powers, but when I put it on I'm making a promise to myself to stand up and say no, to not tolerate the intolerable, and to fight back if I must.
And sometimes you must.
In recent weeks a bad situation with a co-worker has gotten worse and worse to the point that it was hurting everyone around us. So yesterday morning when I got up I put on the dragon. I went to work. When this person started again I stood up and said something.
She got fired.
I feel badly about that. Really badly. I may sting someone's bottom or back, but I live every waking moment of my life trying to do as little harm to people as possible. Somehow costing someone their livelihood doesn't quite fit with that in my mind.
As usual, I called my little bunny for a little moral support. "What have I done" I asked. "You took an intolerable situation and changed it" he answered. Very true. Things could not not go on the way they were. I would have liked a more positive resolution, but there is only so much that can be done with someone who is completely out of control.
And I kept my promise to myself. The dragon has returned to it's cave in the bottom of my jewelry box, and as a good friend at work said "better days are ahead."
Here's to them.
