Sameness

“There is no sameness. If you looked down upon the world from above, like an albatross, you might phant’sy there was some sameness among the people crowding the land below you. But we are not albatrosses, we see the world from ground level, from within our own bodies, through our own eyes, each with our own frame of reference, which changes as we move about, and as others move about us. This sameness is a conceit of yours, an authors hobgoblin, something you fret about in your hammock late at night.” ---Neal Stephenson, The System of the World

Sometimes it's too bad we are not all the same; with the same needs, desires, fixes. We could take care of each other by rote, easily determine what is missing from the happiness equation, and supply that deficiency. No effort, no delving into the consciousness of another, no silly anticipation of needs, just a simple answer to the simple question 'What do I want?', it would be the same for everyone else . . .

Gold and Green Turquoise

I fell in love with a gold ring last weekend. Curious. I'm generally not much of a jewelry person. Of course I appreciate a nice stone or skillful metal work as much as the next person, but I don't wear jewelry very much and have never been acquisitive in the accumulation of jewels. I don't even wear a wedding band, much less an engagement ring. But, then, I've never had a piece 'speak' to me in quite this way before! Betsy and I went to Naranjo's Jewelry and Repair in Old Town Albuquerque, on Romero, to get a quote on some turquoise pieces that Betsy wanted repaired and/or altered. We spent some time talking with Stella, and Elizabeth, looking at the jewelry and trying on pieces. I saw the ring in a display and commented on it, it was so unusual. But I didn't try it on. A bit later it caught my eye again as I walked past the case, so I asked Elizabeth to pull it out for me. Yellow gold, formed like coral tendrils wrapping around the finger to delicately grasp an oval cabochon of green turquoise with a lovely rusty brown matrix. The gold looked rough and natural, as if it had been plucked from the earth as it was. Beauty in its roughness, elegance in the setting of the turquoise. Very heavy, very comfortable. I can't stop thinking about it, though I know I can't have it, with no private income . I reluctantly returned it to its case. But the weight of it on my finger stayed with me for quite some time. I've been back to see it several times, and have to talked to Stella about its history, it is one of her pieces, lost wax technique, and if I remember correctly the turquoise is from CO.