The Pearl

Pearls are the product of pain. For some unknown reason, the shell of the oyster gets pierced and an alien substance - a grain of sand - slips inside. On the ingress of that foreign irritant, all the resources within the tiny sensitive oyster rush to the spot and begin to release healing fluids that otherwise would have remained dormant. By and by, the irritant is covered and the wound is healed. A pearl!

No other gem has such a fascinating history. It is the symbol of stress - a healed wound. A precious, tiny jewel conceived through irritation, born of adversity, reversed by adjustments. Had there been no wounding, no irritating interruption, there could have been no pearl.

Some oysters are never wounded, and those who seek for gems toss them aside, fit only for stew.