Pearls of Wisdom

A pearl is formed when a grain of sand, parasite or some other irritant works its way into an oyster. As a defence mechanism, a layer of fluid is used to coat the irritant. Layer upon layer of this fluid is deposited until a pearl is formed. Just like an oyster we all have irritants which work there way into our lives. We come up with different defences, strategies and tools to deal with these. Maybe you’re at the beginning of adding layers. Maybe you’re half way through. Or maybe, like the oyster, you were so absorbed in defending yourself and adding layers you hadn’t realised a pearl had formed. Now you can pause and enjoy the resulting beauty of this natural process. OK, so that should be enough warm fuzzy feelings. You’ve realised you’re either on the way to or have become a pearl. But what do you do now? Exactly what the oyster does. Keep going. The oyster makes more than one pearl in its life. Let’s face it, there’s always another irritant. Plus, it has to fit in eating, reproducing and providing habitat for other sea creatures. Most importantly it has the enormous, endless but satisfying task of filtering water to improve water quality. Even though it's only one tiny oyster it can achieve all this. What would happen if there were no oysters? That’s enough of a hint. I’ll leave the rest up to you…