My little silken bag contains three small stones – one for the past, one for the present and one for the future.

The first stone is jet black, a small misshapen black hole of a stone, called an Apache Tear. Like a black hole, it draws everything, and will eventually contain everything – all my past woundings, sorrows and losses. It is heavy now, and possibly will grow heavier – but the Apache’s Tear does more than soak up sorrow, it heals and transforms self pity into compassion, sorrow into understanding. It is worth its weight in tears.

The stone that represents me today is the bloodstone, the warrior’s stone, carried into battle as a charm and a talisman. I know my strength, I known when and for what reasons I will take my stand, be unshakeable, carry my faith like a sword and not back down. I know because it has been tested. Life can be a battlefield, and the stone reminds me that I have been blooded, but I still stand.

My third stone is a Tiger’s Eye, through which I look to the future with hope and courage.