Brief excursus for poetic purposes

For a few months now I've been wearing the same necklace nearly every day. It came from my aunt at Joie De Vivre several years ago. It's a compass, balancing precariously in some kind of watery solution. And whenever I'm asked about it I answer "oh, that's my moral compass." At which point I often get some quizzical looks, as if I had just confessed to voting in national elections by coin toss or tarot card.

This thing has exactly one thing in common with an actual moral compass: it does not function when held upside-down. In fact it is pretty sensitive even to sideways tilt (if I were really pursuing this metaphor I should accompany it with the level earrings that Joie also sells) and to all kinds of jolt and jiggle.
The poetic point to be gained by this is as follows: I am (and I bet you are too) perfectly capable of making integrity-filled moral decisions when I'm not upside-down or being shaken from side to side. If I step back from my quandaries and think about them, my moral compass will be able to function properly. If I take a moment to level my head before rushing into judgment, the results will come out much better.

So that's why I've been wearing this necklace. I might start opting for another, especially as Kitty really enjoys batting at this one (never harming the compass, but scratching at its wearer and her shirt).

Before I sign off however I must report one of the more charming adventures this compass has had... on a certain huckleberrying trip with a certain six-year-old, after she got bored with giving her companions a running commentary on which direction we were headed, the compass magically sprouted another direction, signified by "B," alerting us to where the bears were hiding, and when that grew tiresome, it even supplied us with "D" for dragon, and "L" for lion. It was a neverending font of important information.