Let the Diamond Polishing begin!
by Syndee Hendricks
Many of us have heard of people being described as a diamond in the rough. That rough was discovered 900 million years ago in India in the form of a potential diamond–the most alluring of all gemstones and the hardest substance on earth. The comparison can be ironically very similar from a person over the span of their life to a diamond over its existence. The trek from buried in ‘mother earth’ to being discovered, cut, polished, and set in the perfect setting to reflect its brilliance correlates well to our trek of life from the beginning to our perfect ‘setting’. Once we are on our path to become a diamond, there is the point where we choose how our inner diamond is formed and polished to brilliance.
Once the outer layer is gone, the sparkling precious stone begins to emerge. Then the polishing begins, the cut creates the facets, and the remaining components of the diamond come to life! The light that comes next gives a new birth to the prisms and reflections that are allowed to emerge. Brilliantly. And, voile’! The rainbow appears. Sometimes two, then three, and four. Wow. Some have twin double rainbows of light!
Ironically the word “diamond” is derived from the Greek word adamas, which translates to “unconquerable.” That is the opposite of what diamond should mean particularly since the stone’s symbolic meaning is to commemorate lasting love. Or is it so ironic? My realistic self thinks that may explain the high divorce rate. The diamond stone which is one of the most valuable substances on earth can be used to compare the fine points of the precious stone to ourselves as human beings.
The “Four C’s” are used in the industry to rate a diamond: Clarity, Carat, Color, and Cut, however, there are so many more ratings a diamond can have. Some of those are: Shape, Culet, Girdle, and Florescence with Certification—the Diamond Grading Report of the stone’s characteristics and scoring. A Diamond Grading Report includes all of the stone’s defining characteristics and scores. It seems like a report card from our education days. There are all the additional parts of a diamond: Table and percentage, crown, pavilion, and depth.
A diamond in the rough is that person who had a challenging start in life, had life challenges along the way, or made poor choices and must begin again—a re-birth if you will. We all could fall into one of those three categories and make choices every day around shaping all the facets our inner diamond:
- Clarity
- Carat
- Color
- Cut
- Shape
- Cutlet
- Girdle
- Florescence
- Certification
- Table and Percentage
- Pavilion
- Depth
In the twelve qualities above, can you see a correlation between the diamond’s facets and your life? Carat might be related to size of your heart, certification relating to your education, depth relating to being profound, and so on. My favorite is Florescence because I love bright and shiny things as they are so rainbow filled, brilliant, and sparkly. Beautiful! And then again, Florescence may equate to our integrity, which shines our inner light out to the world. Which ones of the twelve do you see supporting powerful change in your life?
Diamonds begin as carbon and are created when subjected to extreme pressures and temperatures at the earth’s lithosphere, which is up to 240 miles below the earth’s surface. Again, here is a correlation between diamonds and human beings with the pressures of life and the promise of polishing ourselves to brilliance. Release your inner carbon and find your brilliance!
