A diamond is a chunk of coal that is made good under pressure.
Henry KissingerI’ve fallen in love with diamonds. I’m taking an Earth and Ocean Sciences course and we’re studying how diamonds form – they start out as lumps of coal that sink about a hundred miles into the earth’s surface to be exposed to the extreme pressure and temperatures needed to recreate the bonds. Then when the diamond is created it has to rise to the earth’s surface at just the right speed through a pipe of molten rock. If it comes up too slowly, the decrease in pressure would cause the diamonds to convert to graphite - a high grade of coal and definitely not something you could ever wear set in gold. The specific conditions required to create a diamond make me appreciate how truly rare they are; If there are any missing links in the creation of a diamond or in its delivery to the earth’s surface, the result is no diamond at all.
For years I’ve heard slogans such as “Diamonds are Forever” and we all clearly know that a diamond engagement ring on the finger doesn’t guarantee any longevity to the relationship but somehow the romance marketing continues. I’ve seen many women at the restaurant who use affectations of the hands to highlight their wedding rocks (Bless their hearts, they're usually from Texas where the hair and the diamonds are big). Landing a big gem may be a huge accomplishment but no guarantee of forever - look at Liz Taylor’s 69.42 karat diamond given to her by Richard Burton, one of her seven husbands (although arguably her favorite). Diamonds are tough survivors and whereas the relationships may not last, the diamond itself is forever.
Personally I’ve never really cared for diamonds until now but somehow they’ve acquired a new likable position of the elitist underdog. Somehow through a fragile process of extreme pressure and temperature, a rather ugly dark substance emerges as a light refracting diamond. It’s like a heroine’s story of going deep into the bowels of the earth, re-arranging the atomic bonds and reemerging as a rare and valued crystal. Somehow the process sounds slightly familiar although I know that it takes a diamond more than 365 marbles for its transformation.
Can you view this post breakup time as a period of transformation? A breakup has all the elements to create something valuable and sparkly - pressure, dark feelings, and depth. Take the time you need to let your diamonds emerge.
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