What Strikes the Oyster
Does not fall far from the tree? Calls the kettle black? Never strikes in the same place twice? Something about pearls..?
Amid consistent rebranding and clarity of my goals, the idea of a pearl will always be the nucleus. It has to be. Asha Pearl Sparrock, soon to be Asha Pearl Henry. My family sticks with Asha Pearl or just Pearl. Named after my great-grandmother, whom I have no memory of, I like to hold on to the idea that she was a rock. A diamond in the rough that had the elements against her. Still, she rose.
How do I resemble my great-grandmother? How can I emulate the meaning of her name? One definition of a pearl, according to Oxford Languages, is a "person or thing of great rarity and worth." Could I be considered to have great worth? Am I rare and unique? When battling the elements, would I arise unscathed?
While pearls are the literal gem formed by the oyster, they are often associated with feminity, purity, wealth, and patience. Patience stands out to me over all the other associations. We see the wealthiest of women sporting the pearl choker. To an extent, I understand the social connotations of pearls and feminine energy. But patience..
Patience is the annoying trigger word our parents used when we had to wait for Christmas to arrive. Patience is what we needed to find in the church pews after the 4th exit song. Patience continues to evade me when my 7th guest in a row requested water with lemon for the table. Patience guides the oyster. Patience seems to be less in quantity these days.
We've heard the phrase "Protect my peace." What does that mean? How do I go about it? Whenever used in social settings, it often seems as though protecting one's peace is at the expense of others. Protecting your peace is a selfish action of refusing the treatment or negative energy of those around you. Or, simply choosing to disengage from toxic or needless situations.
Does the oyster protect the peace of the pearl?
What about the value of the pearl? The value of the oyster? Does the oyster lose its value once the pearl is extracted? Do we judge a misshapen pearl? Why is the oyster considered not as valuable as what it protects? When compared to humans and our condition, are our bodies the oyster and our souls the pearls? Does our body protect our souls? Our spirits? Is our body and its physical well-being tied to our mental capacities?
The limit of what our spirit can endure can only be tested. Even then, we stretch our capabilities farther than we'd expect. The abilities we may have hidden within us are unknown to this life and only will be revealed when we allow others to crack us open and discover what wonders live within us. For what strikes the oyster will never damage the pearl.
Featured image: Photo by Renaat Peeters: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photograph-of-a-pile-of-oysters-12974408/
