On Becoming a Pearl

One grain of sand is the beginning of a precious gem. We might not see a grain of sand as precious if it finds its way under a sandal strap or onto the rim of a water bottle and into a thirsty mouth. The amount of irritation one little grain of sand can cause is incredible. Once inside a mouth it seems no amount of swishing or spitting can dislodge it.

Imagine a giant clam at the bottom of the sea. Within the velvety folds of pink muscle is a huge, luminescent pearl. Years ago a tiny irritant floated into the clam as it opened to receive nourishment. It created discomfort so with infinite patience the clam used the same substance from which its outer shells were formed to surround the object of its suffering. The outcome….a beautiful, lustrous gem.

It didn’t stop being a clam or living its life. It didn’t rage through the sea declaring how wounded it felt. It used its own nacre or mother-of-pearl to coat the irritant with layers of its beautiful, iridescent self.

As I was contemplating the formation of a pearl it occurred to me that we have the same opportunity as clams and oysters. It’s common for us to have an irritant, a core issue, that follows us throughout life.

Haven’t I already dealt with this? Why does this keep coming up for me? I can’t open up to love, I was hurt in the past. I failed before so how can I try again? Why does this theme keep surfacing after years of working on it?

We become pearls by using the substance of which we are made…precious light….to create a beautiful life. The choice is ours. We can surrender to the irritant and become a victim of our past or we can use the magic of self-transformation to form a gem of our lives.

A pearl really is layers and layers of light surrounding a single grain of sand. Imagine the possibilities.