Living Well

This is a regularly changing page containing; reflections, thoughts and simple self-help ideas. Previous Living Well pages will be added to a growing archive as an on-line resource. Click below to access the Archive pages:

An emotional storm - Beginnings - Running Free - The Hazelnut Shell - Letting Go

The Scratched Diamond

Here is an old story that has been around for centuries.  I hope that it will help you to think about the painful ‘scratches’ in your own life a little differently.

The old King had a most beautiful and expensive diamond.  He was rightly proud to wear it for there wasn’t another as perfect or valuable in the whole world.  But then one day, the diamond was accidentally scratched very deeply.

The King called in his most expert diamond and gem cutters and offered the one who could repair the damage a huge reward, but try as they did with every technique known to them, no one could remove or repair the scratch without spoiling it even more.  Naturally, the King was very upset, and he hid his valuable jewel away out of sight.

Several years went by, and from time to time the King got his diamond out and looked at it, and then with a sigh, put it away again.  Then one day an unemployed jeweller, who was living on benefits, came to the palace hoping for some jewellery repair work from the great and the grand that lived and worked there.  The King heard of his good workmanship and called him in and showed the jeweller his precious diamond.
The man examined the diamond very carefully, then said ‘Please sir, leave it with me and I will return it to you even more beautiful than it ever was’.  The King was struck by his confidence and let him take his diamond away.

The craftsman kept to his word, and a few weeks later, he returned to the King with the diamond.  With delight, the King saw that with superb skill and artistry, he had engraved a beautiful rosebud around the damage, using the scratch to make the stem of the bud.

When we feel ‘scratched’, damaged and spoiled by people and events in life, it is tempting to hide the hurts away, to not let others see our pain, and even hide the memories  from ourselves.  However, talking to someone like a counsellor or psychotherapist who can skilfully help you to repair the damaged emotions, feelings and thoughts will not take the memories away (often that isn’t possible) and yet what is possible is that the person bearing that wound, can become dignified and beautiful inside while still bearing the scratch.

Walk Gently
Walk gently, then, with your frailty; allow it to bless you.
It will not cripple you unless you run from it.
Embrace it instead.
Carry it as one carries the cherished secret of a great wealth
Hidden away in a holy, eternal space
Like a treasure hidden in a field.

Macrina Wiederkehr, ‘A Tree Full Of Angels’
San Francisco, Harper & Row, 1988.  P47