Man does not weave this web of life. He is merely a strand of it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. ~ Chief Seattle
Can you imagine being the person who inspired Leonardo Da Vinci to pick up his paintbrush or the person who encouraged Hitler to put down his? What would have happened if Thomas Watson had not been the attentive assistant of Thomas Edison? What legacy would John Lennon had left the world, if he had not met Paul McCartney or Yoko Ono along the way? What if Hillary and Bill or Charles and Diana had never met? Does a single moment shared with others have the potential to change the world? We, the creators of Those Little Beads, believe it just may. In fact, we believe, if we all just took a moment of mindfulness to realize just what kind of impact we have on everyone and everything we are connected to, the world might actually become a better place. Yes, it is just a theory, we know, but it is a theory we believe in. This theory is what Those Little Beads is based upon. Those Little Beads are a gift simply to remind people that we are all connected, each have something in common and something uniquely special to share with others which connects us to them and allows us to make a difference in their lives. The bead(s) you dedicate represents the connection between you and the recipient(s) of the dedication, as well as the connection you have to everyone on the Those Little Beads strand. With every Those Little Beads dedication, our goal is to reveal how we all are all connected and have the ability to create mindful moments, every one of us having something in common and something uniquely special to share with one another, potentially leading to both life changing and world changing experiences.
What are those little beads?
That’s a good question. They have been called “magic beads”, “healing beads”, “love beads”, some have even called them “the perfect gift”. So, I suppose, we should call them “magic healing love beads, the perfect gift”. However, we usually just call them “Those Little Beads“, because they are so many things to so many people.
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” ~ Chinese Proverb
Those Little Beads began as a gift, from David McKinley to Andrea Anderson. David had shown Andrea how to make the very first bead, as a way to help relieve some of her suffering. As David showed Andrea how to make the very first bead, he suggested that she focus positive healing energy into making Those Little Beads, as a form of healing meditation, to keep her from the bombardment of the negative energy which caused much of her suffering. Much to her surprise, as she began to make the beads in this way, her mind, body and spirit really did begin to feel better.
As she continued to make Those Little Beads, she found that it didn’t just make her feel better, it made those around her feel better. In fact, when she began making Those Little Beads, during her month long stay in Alta Bates Burn Center, she began receiving visits from complete strangers wanting to learn more about them, the beads seem to be magical. From the beginning, she had many offers to buy Those Little Beads but she would never even consider selling them. She could never sell them, because they were worth more to her than money. But the demand for Those Little Beads kept surfacing so she decided just to give them to people (under one simple condition) in exchange for “something of value”. This forced people ask themselves what they truly valued. The answer was different, for each person. Some valued a ring given to them by a boyfriend, some valued a story given to them by their mother, it was all relative. It was also all connected. Andrea soon realized, what we seem to value most in life is not really the things we possess but the moment a true gift is given and how the gift connects us to one another and that is why Those Little Beads makes people feel so good.
Despite Andrea’s realization of what made something valuable, it wasn’t until Andrea spent time with a homeless woman known as “Dee” that she herself fully understood the true magic behind Those Little Beads.
One day, Andrea shared a drink of water with Dee and, in return, Dee shared the secret behind the magic of Those Little Beads. Dee revealed how no two beads were alike, each having an energy of its own. Each was beautiful, having something in common and also something uniquely special to share. Together, when connected, they made something even more beautiful, despite or maybe because of their uniqueness and commonalities. Hence, the philosophy behind Those Little Beads was born.
That is how Those Little Beads began.
In hopes of making Those Little Beads more accessible, We have created this webpage. The sole goal behind it is to share the magic and celebrate our connections and to create awareness of how we all have the ability to create mindful moments, every one of us having something in common and something uniquely special to share with one another, potentially leading to both life changing and world changing experiences. We hope that you will join us and contribute to the Those Little Beads strand.