The Living Promises Pendant

At Gallery of Diamonds, we believe in more than just quality and craftsmanship. We embrace a set of guiding principles that help us live our lives to the fullest. Join us on a journey where the Living Promises becomes a tangible reminder of these principles, helping cultivate a deeper connection within ourselves and the world around us.

Diamond Mike Watson created the Living Promises pendant as a faithful friend to help one remember what is important in life.  Forged in precious metal, the Living Promises renders its charm with positive thoughts.

The inspiration of the design came from a sketch his adoptive mother, Martha, drew when he was a child.  She stumbled onto the pattern years before as she was doodling with pencil and paper.  She made a square graph of dots and connected them into the shape of a stylized cross.  Martha then embellished the negative spaces.

Martha prepared another graph and taught the skill to her son.  The result was a magical contour that forever sparked his imagination. 

Throughout the years, Watson found himself scrawling the image.  Because of his love for his mother, he associated all goodness within this enchanting symbol.  

He divided the components of the symbol into the virtues his mother taught him as a child.  He considered them “promises” that one could keep to enjoy life to its fullest.

Watson’s illustration of his mother’s original sketch.

The Living Promises:

  1. Be Kind. 
  2. Be Giving. 
  3. Be Forgiving. 
  4. Be Thankful. 
  5. Be Joyful. 
  6. Be Mindful.
  7. Be Brave. 
  8. Be Knowing. 

Watson could never arrange any virtue by importance. Since he was rarely satisfied in the concept of ultimate truth, he loosely defined it.  He believed truth was a concept that was personal and relevant only to the individual.  This is easy to understand when comparing persons who are born from different parts of the globe and into different conditions and circumstances.  Because individual truth is important the virtue is blended into the higher levels of the pendant. 

The promises mentioned may not be complete or hold the secret to everyone’s fulfillment of life. We are each unique, and a needed virtue may change at any time.

A “Living” Necklace

Because Watson understood virtues could be interpreted in different ways throughout one’s life, he stressed not to cling tightly to any definition. 

The Living Promises were born from Watson’s personal experiences and were inspired from the love of his mother and many of the world’s most-loved spiritual teachers.

Since Watson believed one person’s truth may not be another’s, he also believed any definition may change or become more or less significant throughout time. Therefore, the user is encouraged to modify any promise to reflect their present understanding of their life’s purpose. 

The Living Promises:

1. Be Kind.  Love yourself.  Love others.  Treat all that lives with compassion.

2. Be Giving. Give cheerfully without expecting anything in return.  Give more than you take.

3. Be Forgiving. Ask for forgiveness when you harm another.  Forgive others who harm you and even those who do not ask for forgiveness.

4. Be Thankful. Have immense gratitude for all things. Be thankful for your dwelling, your body, your senses, and even your challenges which strengthen you. 

5.  Be Joyful. Smile, laugh and find great joy in all things.

Worry not.

Be joyful for the sunshine of morning, the darkness of sleep, and all that lies between.

6. Be Mindful.  Be aware of now.  It is here you hold our galaxy with its family of stars in your mind and realize you are the light within it.

Recognize your reflection in all things. 

Be mindful we each experience life differently. Your truth may not be another’s truth.

7. Be Brave.  Walk with courage.  Live without fear.  Speak your truth.  Grow in wisdom.

Wake with excitement in being the master of your reality. 

Shine your light. 

Seek everything within yourself and you will find everything in everything else.

8. Be Knowing. Know you are loved.  Know you are a living masterpiece. 

Know your words, thoughts, and actions can empower, inspire and heal.

Know all things are possible with intention and perseverance.  

Know the amazing thing about every day is you create it along the way.

 

How to use the pendant.

The Living Promises can be used anytime yet the best time is when one can dedicate a quiet moment of reflection or before falling asleep. 

Some believe dreams hold the power to solve perceived problems in waking life.  By carrying positive thoughts into one’s dreams, one may awaken with renewed purpose.  Using the Living Promises at night is a wonderful way to fall asleep.

One may first memorize each arm.  It is a good idea to read through the definitions of each promise, feeling free to add or modify a thought beside a particular promise that has a current or special meaning to the user. 

Before sleeping, one may simply think about or touch the promise of Kindness on the top arm.  Then one can move clockwise around the pendant with your thoughts or by touching the metal, silently repeating the name of each virtue while giving deep thought to its meaning.  One may think of each arm as a door to understanding each promise. The user may spend as much or as little time contemplating each promise and how it is currently relevant in one’s life.

An easy way to use the Living Promises is to simply trace your finger along each arm and silently repeat each promise. If you wish, you can repeat the name of each arm in first person.

Other Virtues

Hearts and Angels pendant shown with amethyst.

Following is a list of other virtues that may be needed in one’s life.  Depending on what virtue the user is seeking, any of these can be assigned to one of the arms:

Docility: Be willing to be taught, to learn, and to grow.  Be open to new ideas and gaining knowledge. 

Good counsel: Seek advice from reasonable persons that can be trusted to have your best interest at heart. 

Good judgment: Think rightly about a decision. 

Greatness: Seek excellent and superb feats that will benefit ourselves and others. 

Humility: Be humble. Free yourself from pride and arrogance. Be modest and meek. Have a serene spirit while focusing on the needs of others. 

Leadership. Embrace a commanding authority or influence. 

Moderation. Observe reasonable limits by avoiding extreme behavior or expression.

Patience: Accept delay or suffering without getting upset. 

Perseverance: Overcome the temptation to quit.  Continue worthy efforts despite difficulties or failure. 

Respect: Recognize the worth and dignity of others. 

Responsibility: Accept the consequences of your words and actions. 

Self-control: Restrain excessive impulses, emotions, or desires. 

Sincerity: Be trustful and honest in words and actions. 

Tolerance: Allow others to have opinions that are different from yours. 

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Living Promises for Kids. 

The Living Promises is a great gift for kids and young adults to remember good virtues throughout their lives. It provides a precious moment for parent and child communication.  Words can have different meanings depending how they are spoken or read.  Depending on the age of the child, a parent may discuss a single virtue or all of them. 

Following is an abbreviated version of the Living Promises that kids can understand. 

1.  Be kind.  This is caring.  It is treating others as you would like them to treat yourself. 

2.  Be giving.  Giving and sharing with our family and friends.  Sometimes even our smile can be a great gift to someone. 

3. Be forgiving. When we hurt others we must say we are sorry. We must forgive at all times and when we say we are sorry it must come from the heart.

3.  Be thankful. This is the appreciation of everything.  We can be thankful for our home, our food, our mother and father and everyone we love. 

4.  Be joyful.  This is happiness and comes from thoughts of love in our hearts.  Joy can come from everywhere- from laughter, sunshine, the patter of rain, our friends, or from the hug of our mother or father.  

6.  Be mindful.  In this very moment we are important in the world.  We are aware sometimes the moon may make one person happy and the other person lonely.  We each see life differently. 

7.  Be brave. This is having courage. It is standing up for yourself and for others.  Being truthful is also being brave. Courage is waking up being excited about a brand new day.  We must believe in ourselves.

8.  Be knowing.  We know we are loved.  We know life will give us anything with good thoughts.  We know the amazing thing about every day is we create it along the way.  We know everything is possible with our imagination. 

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The Living Promises is a beautiful piece of jewelry that can be worn everyday, to be admired, and to remember the giver.  However, my hope is to also offer a new path to experience life to the fullest, to brighten the spark that we each contain, and to become a better person.  This, in turn, makes the world a better place to call home. 

The Living Promises pendant is now available in an array of designs as a special order in 14K yellow gold, white gold, or in sterling silver.