The Damaged Diamond

another mashel Here is another example of the same type:

"When an oyster gets an irratation, it creates a pearl"!!!!

It doesn't complain and kwetch, it builds and brings to purpose to it's sufferilng and beauty to the world.

I know a magnificient coulpe who have a
family blessed with many children. Then they had triplets and one of them had an extremely severe case of cerebral palsy.
Not being able to get help here they traveled all over the world with him until they found a doctor who could alleviate part of his suffering.

And then what did they do? They got him
to donate the equipment to a hospital in Israel to help others, and then they opened a school for C.P. kids.

They turned their extreme suffering and pain into a pearl. May G-d protect us all
that we will never have such a nisiyon(trial)
but if we do, chalila, may we pass with
flying colors. Reply

Is this story found in the Talmud? Midrash? Is this story found in the Talmud? Midrash? It is so beautiful. Reply

Brilliant What a powerful Story. I'd love to see more like this. Reply

life's journey The diamond is the hardest substance in the temporal realm. It is a closed, hardened and unyielding substance. The flawless nature, and value, of the diamond is due to it's unchangeability. Life's journey is the opposite...to have a life filled with beauty we must open our hearts and minds. We must be willing to yield to new ideas. A closed heart is the very opposite to beauty and value.
Perhaps, when the jeweller converted the scratch into a rose he was showing that something that hard cannot be valued. The value is in the potential. Like life's journey our potential is our true value. Reply

Transformation I think that it all boils down to attitude.
If we allow ourselves to look beyond the imperfections in our lives, and look at what
"can be," we allow ourselves to be content with what actually is.
There is definitely a peace in this. Reply

the scratch had become... The scratch did not become anything, it was transformed by the work and skill and insight of the artist. This is a matter of inner work - the ability to see damage, and negative attributes as potential for beauty and positive expression is more than perspective, it is a fundamental transformation of what, why & how you think about every detail of every event.
Communicating the beauty of life in a cactus needle seems crazy unless you have no water, at that point the cactus needle means you have potential for life. The artist saw not the affect of the scratch on the diamond, he saw the diamond and the scratch as independent elements related by their position, not one inflicted upon the other. Reply

The Diamond And so too in our lives, a scratch can become the stem of something beautiful!

HURRICANE KATRINA did a lot of destruction and beauty came out of it as well. Many of us still do not have our kitchens back to order since the hurricane but, we all meet at shul every Friday night for a wonderful Shabbos dinner! None of us have to spend Shabbos alone. Reply

lemons and lemonade If life hands you lemons, and you make lemonade, then don't you practice some form of judo or aikido? Aren't matters of perspective always in our heads? Reply