In a department store, gems that cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars shimmer and glisten in their showcases. Society holds such gems in the highest regards. Society covets such gems and the glamorous lifestyle that they represent. To live a material life worth as much as such an outrageous price tag is considered to be the ultimate success. But what’s it like to live life in a glass box? “Protected” from all the germs and smudges of the outside world, it’s a life of ignorance. To remain so ignorant is what allows this life to feel fulfilled. Although the diamonds sparkle, it’s a phony sparkle created from the florescent lights. Completely manmade: completely unnatural. Not even the best technology can recreate the glow of the sun. Night falls. In the display case, the power switch is flicked and the doors are shut. There is no more glowing radiance. Shoppers and workers pile into their cars: the diamonds are forgotten. If you are willing to put the “perfect” life on hold for just a moment, become an intrepid explore and venture into the unknown. Nobody would think to look here for anything of value. After all, heaps of disregarded chip bags and Coke bottles create a mountainous terrain among a river black with toxins. Is it mud lining the river banks or decomposed waste? After years of neglect, it is impossible to differentiate. Beyond the initial disgust of the road less traveled lies something beautiful. Save the dirt that coats her face, there is no physical difference between her and those living the “privileged” city life. How she ended up out in the wild was a game of chance. Few are aware of her existence. She’s so unnoticed; she’s practically invisible to the greater population. Drenched with rain, sleet and snow; covered in mud, moss and silt; she still manages to illuminate the lives of all those privileged enough to meet her. Mesmerizing. Night falls. Still out in the open, exposed to all the elements, one dirty little diamond still sits; still sparkling from the moonlight. Glowing so bright, her soul is a beacon of hope in a place where hope seems impossible. The luminance is not solely for show. How has she been overlooked for so long? One dirty little diamond is proof that, if only one is willing to look for it, life always has sparkle. I believe that beauty exists even in even the ugliest places.
But what’s it like to live life in a glass box? “Protected” from all the germs and smudges of the outside world, it’s a life of ignorance. To remain so ignorant is what allows this life to feel fulfilled. Although the diamonds sparkle, it’s a phony sparkle created from the florescent lights. Completely manmade: completely unnatural. Not even the best technology can recreate the glow of the sun.
Night falls. In the display case, the power switch is flicked and the doors are shut. There is no more glowing radiance. Shoppers and workers pile into their cars: the diamonds are forgotten.
If you are willing to put the “perfect” life on hold for just a moment, become an intrepid explore and venture into the unknown. Nobody would think to look here for anything of value. After all, heaps of disregarded chip bags and Coke bottles create a mountainous terrain among a river black with toxins. Is it mud lining the river banks or decomposed waste? After years of neglect, it is impossible to differentiate. Beyond the initial disgust of the road less traveled lies something beautiful.
Save the dirt that coats her face, there is no physical difference between her and those living the “privileged” city life. How she ended up out in the wild was a game of chance. Few are aware of her existence. She’s so unnoticed; she’s practically invisible to the greater population. Drenched with rain, sleet and snow; covered in mud, moss and silt; she still manages to illuminate the lives of all those privileged enough to meet her. Mesmerizing.
Night falls. Still out in the open, exposed to all the elements, one dirty little diamond still sits; still sparkling from the moonlight. Glowing so bright, her soul is a beacon of hope in a place where hope seems impossible. The luminance is not solely for show. How has she been overlooked for so long?
One dirty little diamond is proof that, if only one is willing to look for it, life always has sparkle. I believe that beauty exists even in even the ugliest places.