Be an Amulet

My mother collected diet books, which she never read or followed, like charms she hoped she could hold and use to wish for weight loss. Over time, I have noticed that many people collect items in this way, trinkets that we hope will keep us safe, bring us love, save our careers, and bring us health. Sometimes these charms are classes or books or programs, and sometimes they are people.

Perhaps that is why there is a proliferation of every type of coach. There is a craving in the world for a magical charm that will open the secret gates to money, love, weight loss, more money, or magical manifesting.  And there are coaches of every flavor claiming to be that charm.

And then there are those who make no promises, recognizing that they are simply lighthouses in the night, guiding others away from danger. Or perhaps a different type of beacon, a questioner who helps others discover the path by learning what to reject. This is the difference between a charm and an amulet. The charm is made to attract or manifest, while the amulet is meant to protect, to help us turn away, choose, and reject.

I often wonder if rejecting that which we do not need or desire creates the necessary room for what we need in our lives. Then a human amulet does not promise to help us create, but rather help us discern by turning off the screaming voices around us that continually sell us their road to happiness. Not ours. For our road is often unmarked, hidden quietly between blazing billboard signs waiting for us to pause, notice, and choose.  If that is so, then I pray that I am an amulet to those around me.