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BEAUTY TIP #8 “Sand or Pearls”

Posted: October 18, 2009

There is a story about a man who ran across the United States – from coast to coast. At the end of his historic  journey he was surrounded by the media and they bombarded him with these questions:

“What were some the greatest obstacles you faced as you ran day after day. What is the extreme heat or cold?” The man replied, “No.”

“Was is the fatigue and the constant pounding of your feet against the ground?” Again, the man replied, “No.”

“Was it the loneliness and same routine day after day?” Again the man replied, “No, that wasn’t it?

Puzzled, the media asked one last question, “Well, what was it?”

The man replied, “It was the sand in my shoes.”

I can certainly relate to what this man was talking about. Each us can find ways to overcome those huge obstacles in our life – we pray, plan, or share our struggles with our friends. Eventually the barrier goes away or we have managed to function in it or with it. Not so with the daily irritations. They are like the sand in our shoes that rub us every time we take a step – it starts as a small irritation and it grows and grows until our fleet are so blistered that we can hardly take another step.

It got ugly when I discovered why I get irritated.  It is a selfishness and self-righteousness on my part. Silently I am saying “You’re doing something I don’t like, and you are blocking my goal of having a peaceful moment.”

Since I discovered that about myself – every time I get irritated I try to see what/who is blocking my goal. Then I realize I need to let go of that selfishness because guess what – who would have thought – I’m not perfect either. I might actually be irritating people myself. When I put this into perspective it changes my irritation into something manageable and beautiful – acceptance.

Legend has it that, to an oyster, a grain of sand is a severe irritant and that it responds by creating a smooth coating to encase the sharp sand, thereby providing much needed relief from discomfort. According to the legend, over time this process creates a beautiful pearl.

That is what I am striving for; to be a beautiful, precious  pearl. The bible uses the illustration of a pearl in many instances: “A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman – who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls” (Proverbs 31:10 Amp.)

Also in the book of Revelations it tells us that the twelve gates to the New Jerusalem in heaven were pearls. Each gate made of a single pearl. Can we even imagine the magnificence of this?

So I’ve made up my mind – to be beautiful from the inside out and have the value of a pearl, I need to LEARN to recognize and dismiss irritations. As I go through my days, one step at a time, I need to watch for those grains of sand in my shoes, STOP, take out the sand and carry on.

Posted in: Beauty from the Inside Out, Overcoming Stuggles