What Gem Stones Have Taught Me About the Human Condition

Whatever career or sector you are in there is a specific language that evolves. That language can carry insights and wisdom. For example, a farmer knows to be patient and that he or she is subject to the whims of the weather. He knows that he must be patient and plant the seed in one season and harvest the next. If he is wise he understands his children need the time and nurturing to grow.

An astronaut sees the world from outside; the big picture, she sees the forest not the trees. She sees the great expanse of water. She understands that we are the third rock from the sun. She knows that the earth is fragile and is small in the universe. This wisdom can guide her hand and magnify her respect for the ecosystem. As a gemologist I have learned many things from gemstones:

That emeralds must be flawed to be real; if people don’t have flaws perhaps they are not genuine, and one should not respect someone despite their flaws but because of them.I have learned from jade that one can be tough but soft enough to carve; I am reminded of my mother. I have learned from sapphire that you can be very hard but brittle at the same time; I look at my hard friends with more compassion. I have learned that light can be contained within and magnified when it is bent with external light like a diamond with its adamantine lustre; I look for the inner light that explains the grace and spiritual nature of some individuals.From gemology, I have learned that water breaks all things and exposes all things. I have learned that gemstone alluvial deposits are smaller but of higher quality because the river has eroded all the flaws away.

I see people that have dived into the river of life and are fully actualized individuals because of it ... some precious, some semi-precious. The large red centre-stone in the British crown jewels, was thought to be a precious ruby but in fact it was a spinel. I learned we are vulnerable to story and belief.

As I facet gemstones , I am being faceted myself. The river has revealed both my preciousness and my manifold flaws. My experience has carved me into a crafty hunter ... and though I have needed to be hard, my heart has made me brittle. I thank gemology for the metaphors that have helped me understand myself and others.

I hope that the oyster can teach me to make something beautiful out of an agitating piece of sand, to face with courage the seemingly impossible challenges and to carry the burdens that are not avoidable. I remain grateful for the language of gems and the small wisdoms that are buried in these crystalline flowers of nature.','What Gemstones Have Taught Me about the Human Condition'