Once upon a time there were two lumps of carbon. They lived so deep underground that no one knew about them. Both of them endured years of pressure and heat. One of the lumps lost hope and allowed his conditions to define who he was. In doing so, he was transformed into a coal who was dug out of the ground by a machine. His life ended when he was burned to ashes in someone’s fireplace.

But the other lump rose above his conditions. He survived and thrived. As the years went by he grew in brilliance and radiance. He slowly transfored into a diamond. One day he was spotted by those with an eye for beauty. They took him and refined him and polished him. Today he lives on and brings light and joy to the world. And yet no one knows that the diamond was once just a lump of carbon that no one knew about.

Who are you: a coal or a diamond?

I post a new piece every Monday morning at 08:00 GMT/UTC. Enter your email address below in the field below to follow my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.