Bead (noun) a small, usually round object of glass, wood, stone, or the like with a hole through it, often strung with others of its kind in necklaces, rosaries, etc.

So innocent. Simple. Primordial. Yet beads have been with us for eons, facilitating the evolution of our society and consciousness, and at the center of some of the most epic events in history. Who would feign such a glorious role on something so primitive and pure as a bead?

Those of us who base our livelihood on these unassuming holed baubles know very well that appearance is not everything. And yet with beads, it is. The inexplicable, intimate relationship that a person so easily falls into with these trinkets cannot be summed up in words. As we fall in love with them, so we count on others to do the same (as they have for centuries), so that another day’s income can be drawn and we may continue to make a meager (or abundant!) living off so mysterious a riddle as a bead.