Thoughts on International Women’s Day

“Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”~ Marilyn Monroe

In honoring International Women’s Day today, I am celebrating the significance of diamonds.

Marilyn Monroe immortalized the feminine appeal of diamonds when she crooned her way through Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend, a signature melody from 1953’s hit flick Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Marilyn’s sultry Hollywood mystique was further enhanced by images of her in these bedazzling, sparkling and rarefied jewels.

Women have long sought to acquire, wear and even befriend these gemstones, but few have discovered the appeal of becoming one of them in the flesh. Our familiar quest for diamonds keeps us yearning for more of these exquisitely sparkling stones as status symbols while overlooking some of our own personal worth and beauty.

There’s no doubt that the diamond, also known as the adamant stone, carries a unique and charismatic appeal. Claiming the diamond as my own birthstone, I can easily add my approbation to the diamond’s allure. Since early childhood, I’ve been mesmerized by the way these multi-faceted stones reflect and refract light into fascinating displays of wonder.

Whether due in part to outward social conditioning or to ignorance of our own worth, I’ve noticed that we often prefer to buy diamonds than become one ourselves.

Here’s a question I’d like to pose today for all women. It may initially appear, on surface, as odd but I believe it to be of far deeper value to the soul: Would you rather wear a diamond . . or become one yourself?

Inwardly, we are all gems just waiting to be mined and manifested. When we undergo an inward process, our true wealth, wonder and glory can ultimately exceed the purchase and acquisition of any diamond we choose to wear.

“It takes time to grow a diamond.”

Several months ago, a wise friend arrived in the States from her native land of Northern Ireland. Though hardly drawn to the frills of femininity, she dropped a lively remark that hit me as both momentarily humorous and deeply profound.

“It takes time to grow a diamond.”

Likely referring to someone’s need for growth in character development and maturity, her words struck a perfect analogy for the untapped human condition.

Superficial, untested and unmindful of ourselves, we can all ignore and avoid the inner work our soul craves while remaining in states akin to carbon. If you recall having to repeatedly sharpen your pencils back in grade school, it was because these writing instruments were formed from the soft element known as carbon. What you may not know is that carbon is the original, pre-diamond element that’s buried in the earth. Without proper pressure and testing, carbon easily yields to friction and fades quickly into dust.

It’s the same with us. Without forging through life’s heated encounters and inward challenges, we, too, can remain in an underdeveloped state like carbon. Untested, we miss out on experiencing the diamond-like essence within us.

Yet with proper pressure, mining and refinement, we can ultimately present ourselves as diamonds . . . even if we’re wearing none at all! Brazening through the heat process and pressures arising from our own life’s furnace can metamorphose our once dusty identities into an outer joy and a radiantly impressive presence.

If you’ve never considered the making and mining of diamonds as a metaphor for personal development, watch and listen to the following video.

Filmed from New York City’s famed Diamond District, I entitled it Do you know what a gem you are?

For every woman celebrating International Women’s Day, may you discover and unearth the majestic gem you truly are. Wear those diamonds, and plan to be a diamond, too!

Maura is a Speaker on Influence, Leadership, the Power of Happiness

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