Path of the Pearl

My mom had badgered me into adding another book to my must-read list swearing the book is something I will surely love. Its titled Path of the Pearl by Mary Olsen Kelly by Barnes and Noble.

I have not been getting enough sleep for the last few weeks considering that I am now sustaining three passions. Reading therefore had taken a backseat barely whetting my appetite for it via my magazines.

During yesterday’s office coffee break, I reached out for the book hoping to grab a few minutes of good ideas in between my "screaming banshees" (I call my work documents stamped with big letters spelling urgent as my screaming banshees while me as a "ranting banshee" ~lol).

The book reads:

The Pearl Oyster

The Pearl is the oldest gem, and historically it was considered the most valuable. The chance of a particle of sand, a small crab, or a piece of seaweed or shell naturally drifting into the oyster's body and becoming lodged to create a pearl is literally one in tens of thousands.

A pearl is formed when the pearl-producing oyster defends its soft interior organs against the invasion of a foreign material. At first, the oyster attempts to expel the offender. If the oyster can't reject the foreign object, it will become the nucleus, or center of the pearl, and the oyster will secrete layers of protective pearly substance called nacre (NAY-ker) around the irritant to smooth it out.

Fine layers of nacre are applied every second, every minute, and every hour of the day. Some oysters are dormant for part of the year when the water temperature becomes too cold, and others, especially those in the warm waters near the equator, are active all year long.

As the oyster layers the nucleus, it actually transforms the foreign particle into a part of itself. It accepts the intruder, embraces it, and changes it, The oyster uses all the creative forces that are within its realm to overcome the irritant lodged in its body and transform it into a work of nature's art.

"All art is autobiographical.
The pearl is the oyster's autobiography."
-Federico Fellini

The miraculous living gift from the sea - the only gemstone to be produced by a living entity - is the creation of beauty from adversity, of art from irritation. It illustrates that even the worst and most painful invasion can become something of healing artistry. The pearl is a glowing example of a mortal threat transformed into magnificence.

As human beings, we know pain and suffering in wonderous variety. We all experience adversity and irritation, loss and anguish. We may encounter failure, death, divorce and disease. But like the oyster, we can learn to recognize and embrace the transformational opportunities these experiences present.

...How many of us are able to take a challenge, as oysters do, and find the gift in it - to actually turn it into something positive? This is what the pearl teaches us - to honor our strength and flexibility, to find our own beauty in the inner power it takes to bounce back rather than break apart.

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I will be reading the book with every free time I can find... and I will be posting some of the "gems" I find in it together with my thoughts...

Now, I dont think I can look at a pearl the same way ever again... All those years I complained about the painful events I've been through... all the while I was "layering" and creating my own gem - the gift of me - not only to the people I love but to myself.

A pearl. It is an honor to share yours daily through your blogs.