In the coal mines of life, each of us is looking for a diamond. The journey to this diamond may be dark, dirty and challenging, but the lure to find that sparkling jewel is driven by the realisation that this jewel is our true essence.
Metaphors aside, so many of us spend so long seeking ‘the answer’ or ‘the solution’ to life; that one part of the puzzle that slots in and brings everything together perfectly. Yet, when we do this, we run the risk of losing sight of the present as we become focused solely on the end goal of finding the diamond. To aspire is human, but in many ways it is the journey to the diamond that is the most significant, for once we reach the diamond, where do we go from there?
Of course, much of this depends on what the diamond means to us as individuals. Could it be our Nirvana? Or could it be the answer to a life challenge? Many of us have got stuck in the latter, for we see little hurdles to overcome before we can move forward. Hurdles such as: ‘Once I have found that special someone’, ‘Once I have lost weight’, ‘Once I have found the right job’, ‘Once...well, you get the drift!’. This is part of being human, but this strategy denies us from accessing our diamond as we place limits on how far we will go until our challenge has been overcome.
Yet, once we start placing conditions on life, we become trapped in a cycle of more conditions. Once we have lost weight, we then might focus on finding the right job etc. At what point do we step off the merry-go round and say ‘Stop!’? Well, that is a personal decision, but if we spend our lives waiting for the perfect moment to get that diamond, then we could have a long wait. Sometimes, we have to have the courage of our convictions, and realise that whilst our lives may not be perfect, we can still step towards our Nirvana and our dreams (the diamond).
So back to the earlier question ‘Once we find our diamond, where do we go from there?’
Well, we revel in the magnificence and joy of living consciously, and we celebrate our gifts by actually using them! Being slimmer or being in the right job does not make finding or holding the diamond any easier does it? Sometimes we have to embrace the Truth and realise that life is for living now! It takes courage mining for the diamond, and what lies in the darkness of the earth is beyond knowing, for we can never know what is around the next corner of life. Yet we have a choice, we can spend our lives waiting for a perfect moment that may never come, or we can stop pontificating and procrastinating, roll up our sleeves and get digging!
The time has come to step beyond fear and doubt as the controlling forces in life, and to realise that the diamond is always with us, we just have to believe, that’s all...
