Shining like a diamond
Since I was sixteen, diamonds have deeply fascinated me.
Not because of their material value, but because of their unique physical properties and sparkle.
I have learned a lot about jewelry and gems ever since, about the history, craftsmanship and art of jewelry and gem-cutting. I discovered many amazing details over the years, but nothing has ever fascinated me more than the sparkle of a diamond.
A diamond is the hardest natural substance on earth and it does reflect more light than any other gemstone. There is a large variety of cuts, all with their different properties. Not one diamond is exactly like another, every single one is a beauty in its own. The more of them there are, the greater the sparkle.
Just this morning, when sitting on the sofa, feeling a wonderful autumn morning dawn outside, I saw amazingly beautiful reflections of the warm glow from the fire in the stove in the diamond on my finger. The sparkle was so still, nearly subtle, yet so joyful and profound.
Maybe this was just me that I was seeing - as the only things that I felt in this moment were an amazing stillness and joyful love for being who I am, like I am and where I am. This was when I suddenly understood why I have always been fascinated by diamonds.
When you look at them you see a beautiful gem, you know that it is precious, but what you see above all is a reflection of light. A diamond cannot do anything else than reflect the light that is cast on it – just like we in our essence are mirrors for each other to truly see ourselves.
Every diamond is different. Most of them are white, but occasionally they do appear in every colour imaginable. They can have inclusions or be absolutely clear. Every diamond will reflect the same ray of light differently, depending on its cut and proportions and its inner structure.
And yet, from a chemical point of view, all of them are highly compressed carbon.
And so are we: different in our outward appearance, but made up of the same particles in a strikingly similar way.
Our essence is the same: love. To this essence we can connect anytime, thereby not only connecting to ourselves, but to everybody else.
The fiery glow in my diamond made me understand:
We meet what we reflect and reflect what we meet. Do you know these days where you feel like floating on clouds in the sunshine, feeling joyful and light and suddenly you meet this joy and lightness where you never would have deemed them possible? Like a diamond any other person in their unique way will reflect back to us what we radiate or shine out. There is no better or more effective way to reflect, every way is valuable and special.
What we see is what we radiate or shine out.
We so often seek to change our lives by trying to change the circumstance we live in.
We dream of things that might make our lives simpler or richer.
We hope for the perfect partner, job or whatever to arrive.
We want to change everything around us
But do we realize that in fact there is just one thing that we can truly change?– ourselves.
Not by force or with a lot of effort- We do not need to learn things and do not have to become better.
What we need to do is open up to the fact that we are wonderful just as we are.
Deep inside our bodies we know all of this already and with our body we have the most faithful companion on whom we can always rely if we might need a truly wise answer.
Like a jewel that has not been cleaned and lovingly worn for a long time, we might be covered by the dust of the ages and our surface might show some signs of wear, but deep inside we all are a gem.
Like an antique diamond we might need loving care and attention, but we cannot loose the ability to shine and sparkle from deep inside.
It is simply up to us to shine and sparkle in our fullness again.