How a birthday, a hammer, some silver, and a few Ideas became my edit ring

How did the Edit Ring come about?

I make wish lists every birthday. I get my notebook, a cup of tea or, in this case, during a heatwave, a glass of ice-cold tea, and write about what I want for the next year.

I write about things I want to do, things I want to work on, and attitudes I might want to change. I think about my style and make notes about what I want to tweak. Birthdays are my opportunity to review my personal life.

These are not rigid goals. They don’t have titles such as “To Do,” “Must Do,” or “Urgent Changes.” I don’t make promises.

Stream of consciousness

This is when you write without thinking about structure, spelling, or paragraphs. You write down whatever comes into your head.

I love doing this. It helps clear the clutter in my head. On my birthday, I use it to figure out what I want for my next solar return.

Writing reminds me of my successes, my failures and the things I still want to accomplish.

Stream-of-consciousness writing is a good way to check in with yourself.

Flat silver with marks on a jeweller bench birthday ring silver

How I made my Edit Ring

My ring is made with hammer and punch marks that create letters and designs.

Each mark on the metal represents a thought or something that came out of my stream-of-consciousness writing.

Notice I’m avoiding the word “list.” This is an object of strength.

I joined a “make your ring” workshop with Paula Vieira here in Lisbon. I wanted to do something creative for my 69th birthday.

Jewelry-making is fun and it could be a fantastic hobby. Try it out if you are looking for something creative to do.

Paula started by letting me practice making marks on metal.

This was loads of fun because there is nothing like aimless hammering to make you feel good at the end of a hot day.

Each time I used the hammer, I did it with a thought or idea in mind. Sometimes I hit the metal really hard. Other times, you could hardly see the mark. That’s what emotions and ideas are like, isn’t it?

Ring on tube to make I round, birthday Edit ring and hammer

Paula measured my finger, I got a strip of silver, and then I hammered some more. I soldered the ring with a blowtorch, shaped it, filed it, and polished it.

The entire time, I was making mental notes and thinking about what I had written.

My Edit Ring was packed with love and intention.

The final touch

The last step was to oxidize my Edit Ring. It brought the ring to life, and the marks stood out.

I loved working with Paula Vieira. She is friendly and made the class easy for all of us. And she is very patient.

My last year in my 60s

This is my last year cohabitating with my 60s. Next year, I start a new decade.

Some cultures would consider this the beginning of my 70th year, but I need a little more time before I start thinking about my 70s.

Creating your own mythology

We all have our stories and experiences, and we often brush them aside. Maybe we’re too busy. Maybe we don’t want to dwell on the past. Or maybe we forget to look at what we’ve already done.

Our lives are our mythology.

We are born and immediately start down our own paths. Experiences take us in different directions. We have successes, failures, periods of extreme happiness, and times of sadness, just like the Greek gods. We create our own drama and occasionally stumble into someone else’s.

Your story is part of your strength. Nobody else needs to know all the details. You do.

When you start thinking you haven’t done enough or find yourself judging where you are, get out a notebook and write. Look at what you’ve done, how far you’ve come, what you want to keep, and what you might want to edit.

Then make your Edit Ring.

Marguerite Beaty, Blogger, Photographer & Artist

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