Obviously, pictures would be among most treasured belongings. But only because of who is in the picture. So in that sense, it’s not really the picture I treasure, but the object in the picture and how that object made me feel at any particular time.

I have jewelry, expensive jewelry, left to me by my mother. I hold them dear because they were hers and she held them dear. They were a symbol of her success after growing up really poor. To me, her jewelry was a sign of the best part of who she was.

I have other things that were given to me as gifts that I can’t part with. But again, it’s because of the feelings invoked by them and not the things themselves.

There are two things that I have asked be destroyed and spread with my ashes after my death, so I guess those would be what I hold most dear because I want them to carry me to the afterlife. Or carry them with me.

I do woodwork as a hobby and a way to express myself when words don’t work. During my mothers 3 year long illness, I made a mahjong set. Hand cut, engraved and painted. It says everything I want to say about my culture and my family.

Another piece is an engraving of a dragonfly that speaks to my sense of spirituality and our place in the world.

The energy behind the pieces is my lasting legacy to the world. Positivity is the only sure thing to move us all in the right direction.