In a far-off African town, lived a poor peasant. His friends and villagers found him a very pleasant man, who was content with his simple yet happy lifestyle. His life remained peaceful for many years when it so happened that a stranger passed near his fields. He met the blissfully ignorant farmer and talked of the object, which the world desires. Diamond. Information regarding its growing importance and value was poured in. If he had a diamond the size of his thumb, he will be able to own the city and if the size of his fist then he is sure to get the whole country.
Dazed by the luster of diamond, the peasant was sleepless for many nights and started to curse his poor lifestyle. He became restless and unhappy. Only one thought entered and re-entered his mind, till he was exhausted, that if he could find a few diamonds and then.. then.. he will be rich, powerful and enjoying all that life has to offer.
At last, he decided to go on a quest for this precious thing. Influenced by his ambition, he sold the farms to his friend, left his family back at the house of a neighbor and stepped out in the world to find what he really wanted or what he thought so. The poor explorer wandered in the whole land of Africa but not a single diamond could be found. He was utterly disappointed as he came for nothing but lost everything. Failing to bear anymore of it, he drowned himself in a river. Whereas, the new owner of the fields remained rooted in his natural surroundings. One evening, he took his camels to graze near the canal lying at the heart of the farms when suddenly; his eyes caught a glimpse of the sparkle of something embedded in the sand along the bank. Stepping forward, he saw a rough-edged, dusty stone but something was unique about it. It was not an ordinary stone. Having washed it with river water, the man could notice the set of rainbow colors refracted through the transparent surface. Intrigued by this, he took it and the stone was set in a frame on the wooden wall of the room.
A few months later the same stranger walked through the village. He sojourned at the house of the peasant. His eyes caught the glint of the stone and cried: “That’s a diamond. Did the man come back?” “No! He never returned and has no diamond. It’s a stone. I found it around here”, the man pointed towards the fields. The newcomer exclaimed that the stone is a diamond, nothing else.
They leapt out of the house and examined the place thoroughly. Smiling and collecting many more diamonds from the same spot, they could not believe their luck in discovering the largest diamond mine in the world. The gone farmer left these valuable fields for searching other parts of the world. Sigh. This was in this very place, the mine was found.
We always try to look for the best opportunities outside us, when they are within ourselves. Millions and millions of diamonds are present in the existence of our body and soul, to refine which we need to explore them, explore ourselves. The analogy provided above helps to prove that the other side of the world that seems heaven always has someone longing to see our side of life and to find diamonds here, not theirs.
Diamond in its raw state does not really look like a diamond. To enhance its beauty, it is polished and refined rigorously. Likewise, we also need to polish ourselves to discover who we are. Each and every one of us possesses a unique capability and to find that one needs to be consistent in pursuing the search for the diamond.
