Is “the ring” overrated?

I don’t know about you, but Single Ladies (Put a ring on it) was my jam! I would dance around the house shouting the song from the top of my lungs, imitating the dance moves and all, (you couldn’t tell me I wasn’t the shiz). I felt her. If you like it then you should want to put a ring on it, right? I mean that’s what’s been ingrained in us. The Four C’s, you know them cut, clarity, carat, and color. If the ring doesn’t bling, or not three times his monthly salary, then he can forget. Really? Is the ring the only deciding factor in determining the success or failure of a relationship? Is it possible to go against the grain and say no to the ring or are we too bound to tradition? The ring cannot prevent cheating, put food on the table, pay the bills, or provide an environment for everlasting happiness. We forget that. We make the relationship, not the ring. The ring was originally given to show loyalty and was placed on the left hand and on the ring finger because it was said that the vein in that finger went straight to the heart. Stones such as rubies and sapphires were originally given; diamonds later came into the picture and were a marketing strategy by the jewelers. The term a “woman’s best friend” was made up in order to get people to switch to buying diamonds. The price rose as the demand for the worthless stones shot up. The clever propaganda lulled us into believing that we had to have diamonds and a HUGE ring in order to be happy. How many of us were given the enormous rocks and still ended up in divorce court? How many of us had a carat or more, and still couldn’t tell if your husband was coming home? How many of us have flawless diamonds and are still miserable and alone?  

I recently got married and we decided at first to forego the ring and do something else. Why do rings when you can do whatever you want. So what did we end up doing? You guessed it, rings. I wore his mother’s ring and he wore my father’s ring. Aww… so sweet. To be honest, I like to wear rings but not all of the time. I don’t know if it was all in my head, but I felt as if the ring started to change me. I didn’t feel like me. Things started to change, little things became big things and I started having doubts. What was going on? We weren’t spring chickens and had been together for forever, so what changed? We both came to the conclusion that it was the rings. These rings shouldn’t dictate our commitment to each other. We definitely aren’t wearing them to be in the in crowd or please anyone; so we made the executive decision to take them off. And I can’t tell you how liberated I feel. I feel like myself again. It could’ve been all in my head, but then again maybe not. The question I guess I’m asking is, can you still be confident without it?