Gems in Disguise

Photo of an emerald by Wimon Manorotkul

You – and I – we are gems: rare, precious, prized, and valuable. We glimmer and shine with brilliant and bright tones of royalty - emerald green, ruby red, sapphire blue - and are each unique - oval, round, rectangular, heart, pear, or marquise-shaped (like our personality), not to mention faceted and unfaceted (the latter analagous to whether we hone our shinyness. (I prefer my own spelling as 'shininess' doesn't look or feel right to me!).

Real gems have "inclusions" which are internal characteristics such as fractures, growth lines (!), spots, specks, and the like. Think of them as 'extras.' Aren't we as human beings similar? We have our fractures, spots and specks, and possibly growth lines as well that make us a one-of-a-kind 'gem.'

Depending who you are and how you see yourself, you may or may not think of yourself as such, but consider this: we are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, or a tapestry or quilt. We all are a part of the fabric of life. I think of a spider web as I write this as each silk thread is valuable in that it contributes to holding up the entire web.

Similarly, no person is more important than another. Each person is valuable as we contribute to society's intricate web in our own unique ways.

A perfect example of our preciousness and contribution, a work colleague came to visit last week with her recent family addition: a relatively brand-spanking new, baby girl. She is the epitome of a sweet and precious gem, a prize(d) collection!

Both mother and daughter add value to each other's lives in myriad ways, in addition to the partner and father (respectively). Can you now imagine a cross-section of woven threads?

Yes, that's me holding the baby gem (with permission from the mother of course!).

How are you a gem: what qualities, intrinsic and/or extrinsic, can you bring forth to light up the world?