What Does Lapis Lazuli Mean?

This weekend I got Grace a necklace that I've been planning to get her for a couple of months now; I got her a Lapis Lazuli pendant.

So what's the big deal with Lapis Lazuli anyway? Why is it so special?

Well, Lapis Lazuli is a blue stone originally treasured by the ancient mesopotamians (the first recorded human civilization) because it looked like the night sky. Lapis is a deep blue colour, with flecks of metal in it that sparkle under the light. Lapis was the stone the ancients referred to as 'sapphire' (not the blue ruby that we now call sapphire). Here's a little of what it means to me:

Lapis Lazuli reminds me of how beautiful the world is. The light from the farthest galaxies and stars that we see in the night sky isn't where those heavenly bodies exist now, but the light from them left them a long time ago and has been racing toward you at 300,000 kilometres every second for thousands of years just to reach you during your brief lifetime. You will miss seeing the light being sent out right now from even the closest stars by thousands (or millions) of years. I see Love a lot like that—a process that has been set in motion for a long time, just awaiting the right moment—and by the time we see the beauty in life, those actions and sacrifices we see have already taken place. The Lapis Lazuli reminds me that when you feel loved and when you have somebody's attention it's because they have already sacrificed for you, and have already done whatever it is that makes you feel loved by them, long before they see the reaction you feel now.

The light from stars is ever-present, they are shining during the night when we can see them, but they are also shining just as bright during the day when our sun overpowers them. No matter how much you love a person they will not always be able to see it all of the time—but that doesn't mean that the love isn't still there. Love is always present, even when life is too bright to let us see that. The Lapis Lazuli reminds me that you are loved by others even when you're unable to see it, and that when people are out of sight it doesn't mean they aren't still there for you just as much.

Finally, Lapis is a treasure; it is both precious and unique. No other stone mimics the heavens the same way as Lapis Lazuli. When you love somebody and they love you back, there's a reflection of yourself (and your actions) in the love that gets returned back to you. The Lapis Lazuli reminds me that you are loved, and that you can see your love returned in the reflection of my actions and choices toward you.

So that's what the stone you wear means to me—I hope it reminds you of how much more you mean to me than a necklace!