Mantra bracelets

As you probably guessed from reading this blog, I am a very verbal person. I consume writing the way an art critic enjoys art or an oenophile sips wine. I love communication in all forms: texting, literature, social media.

So it's no surprise that I wear my heart on my sleeve, or in this case, around my right wrist. I'm a huge fan of writing reminders on my jewelry, specifically bracelets. I have half a dozen mantra bracelets that I wear at least 50% of the time. Here's my first mantra bracelet that I purchased a few years ago from the fantastic jewelry maker The Vintage Pearl. If you subscribe to their newsletter, they will often send coupons.

Happiness IS a choice. It's a conscious decision to maintain an optimistic perspective, give people the benefit of the doubt, and choose to see the beauty in the mundane. I love to wear this reminder.

When I am feeling a bit anxious or worried I'm going to be focused on the wrong stuff, I put on this one.

Live in the moment. When I glance down at my purse to pull my phone out of my purse one more time, I pause. I look around me and observe. I don't really need to know what is going on in my inbox, Twitter feed, or Facebook. I have everything I need, right here. I am enough, and aren't I lucky? I wore this on my daughter's field trip this week and it helped me to embrace the chaos of dozens of kindergarteners and not dwell on any work I was missing. There will be time to catch up on that after, I told myself. And there was. I left work on Friday afternoon with 0 messages in my inbox, a rare feat for me lately.

My next mantra features a nautical theme: Refuse to sink.

I found this one on the sadly-now-defunct Mamabargains website. It's my go-to bracelet for when I anticipate a rough day. I can look down at it, take a deep breath, and say what needs to be said.

My newest addition to the mantra collection is sort of based on the popular Frozen song.

 It reminds me of my daughter belting out the song, which makes me smile. This saying also encourages me to focus on what matters most in my life, and take a deep breath and discard the rest.

I'm definitely not the only mom blogger who loves mantra bracelets. Last week rockstar mommy blogger Glennon Melton, founder of Momastery, shared a touching mantra bracelet story. Carry on, warrior.