Have you ever needed to buy a gift for someone? How do decide what to get them? Perhaps you think about the types of activities they like or their favorite color. Maybe you scan your memories for a conversation where they could have mentioned needing something. If we care for someone, we might spend a good amount of energy trying to find the perfect gift. Sometimes even with all that dedication, we still end up walking aimlessly through a store with no idea what to give this special someone. Then it hits you. The perfect gift you have been looking for. In a store full of stuff, we can find one item that feels like something that will make someone else happy. Why? 

At that moment, that item might just be the physical thing that will bring a little bit of happiness to someone else’s life. It is just stuff though, so how can it hold such a power? We are often told that when it comes to gifts, it’s the thought that counts. This idea draws a parallel to how I see things like crystals and talismans influencing our lives. That perfect present we find is nothing more than a representation of our love and what we believe someone else might like. We see the item and we think of the recipient of the gift, just as the recipient will think of us when they see stumble upon the item in the future. How can a thing make us think of a person?  We can come up with a million little reasons why, but that doesn’t necessarily prove anything. Whether we realize it or not, something like a gift, carries with it so much more than a tangible item. 

The thoughts we attach to the items in our lives are what give them the power to influence us. Whether it is a squishmallow or a copper-wrapped crystal, the items we surround ourselves with can hold sway in our lives. A talisman can be created from an in-depth complicated ritual, or by simply thinking something holds power because it really is the thought that counts.