What makes a diamond shine?
We’ve all heard the proverb, “Winners are the ones who get to tell the story.” Contrary to common belief, this doesn’t just apply to world wars or fantasy novels. Rather, it’s something we all encounter, everyday, in subtle ways that often escape our notice. So, it might be more accurate to say that everything changes with a change in our perspective.
A lump of coal, when refined, can become a diamond. All we see outwardly is its sparkle, but have no idea what made it this way, and we never stop to wonder what it was like before. After continuous toil and pain, what we end up with is something beautiful.
Every notion is fueled by context. The glass may be half empty or half full, depending on the circumstances that led to it being this way. If water had been poured into an empty glass, it stands to reason that it’s now half full. Had half it’s contents been drained out instead, maybe it’s half empty.
People are a lot like glasses. Whatever we’ve experienced in the past is what shapes how we perceive the future. To an outsider, our lives may seem to be perfect, but they can only see what’s in front of them. They can’t see the scars or the stitches that made us who we are. Everyone has the right to feel sorrow, or loss, or pain, and those who don’t know the story behind someone else’s feelings have no right to judge them. Expecting everyone to always look at the bright side is like expecting the weather to be the same every day. Besides, although many relish the sun on their back, others prefer to stay in the shadows for fear of going blind.
Whether we want to bathe in the light or rest in the shade is our choice, and our choice alone. It may be different from person to person, but that’s because we are all different, and have had our own unique experiences.
We’re all snowflakes, each of made of different drops of water, and with different capacities to evolve.
But whether your glass is half empty or half full, the important thing is that there’s still some water in it, and it’s completely up to us to do what we want with it. Others will only ever see the end product, and even though we shouldn’t live in the past, it isn’t wrong to let it change us.
