Peace Please-

Beads and string have always had significant meaning historically, culturally, and even scientifically. When you think of string theory or look at nucleosomes (a section of DNA that is wrapped around a core of proteins), these structures appear as beads-on-strings under the microscope, which reminds me of “Bead Theory” by Thomas Hunt Morgan. By studying fruit fly DNA, he hypothesised that our genes would look like this on our chromosomes; and although disproven, you could say he got part of the puzzle right.

Looking at Chinese mythology you also have the fox spirit "Huli Jing" (Kitsune in Japanese mythology and Kumiho in Korean mythology) that wears beads of cunning and intelligence. These gifts could be bestowed upon man if he ever found and consumed these said beads, but not without consequence.

Aggry beads in Ghana were often used for medicinal purposes and were believed to have spiritual significance just as rosaries, tasbih, and japamala do in other faiths. They were an important aspect of pre and postnatal care, as they are highly valued for protection against illness and misfortune. Sometimes worn around the waist, this was said to represent the circle of life in regard to a woman's fertility cycle. These beads were also used as a means of payment in their communities, and a way to trade with those outside of them. There has been evidence of Europeans collecting Aggry beads from the West Coast of Africa in the fifteenth century; and later with the transatlantic slave trade, some have been found in the residences of enslaved Africans located in the Southern States of America. A way to stay intertwined with their roots that were sadly and inhumanely robbed from them, to justify the conviction that they were merely chattel. A life in chains cut short by the Fates for being the wrong "type" of mortal. Only the eternal God's had threads of gold, yet that desire for all that glitters (what people deem their inheritance, their privilege, their divine right) seems to bring about a dangerous sense of superiority amongst mankind.

Sometimes looking at all of the cruelty that takes place in the world, you can't help but want to give up hope. There has been so much blood spilled in hate. We see it in our textbooks, on our social media. It is a trauma pumped through our psyches, our bodies, our veins, yet despite all of this we can still radiate love, and our hearts beat in solidarity, as we mourn and protest the deaths of those taken so recklessly. These red chords that tie us together, unify rather than divide us in spirit, and urge us to stand up and say "Never again" to the atrocities of the past. Yes, we have made some progress towards a healthier future, yet we've not come far enough as these patterns of power, greed and corruption continue to be worn as counterfeit gems of honour, draped around the necks of those willing to use these adornments to figuratively strangle and hang others through heinous acts, born of self-righteousness.

Where mercy, compassion, wisdom, and acceptance have been discarded by soulless "leaders" too ignorant, delusional, and prideful to see that these were the true crown jewels when it came to embracing and forging peace, metaphorically one piece looking at this tray of beads. Where the walls (prejudice and mistrust) will no longer be there and we come together in harmony rather than discord, to collectively free and heal ourselves from the countless acts of exploitation in regard to our resources, war and genocide that have plagued humanity (our timeline when thinking of the wheel of string) for far too long.