Sometimes you just have to be in the right place, at the right time, in the right frame of mind to actually hear something so profound that it makes you take stock of what is going on in your life.
Today was one of those days.
I had a friend of mine today tell me that they heard someone say that they had been mining for gold while sitting on a mountain of diamonds. And I realized that there have been so many moments in my life where I have been in that exact spot.
I can sit here at tell you all the diamonds in my life. My family growing up and the opportunities my parents afforded me as a child. My experiences in high school, college and dental school.(not always diamonds, but I do remember the diamonds the best). Going to school in San Francisco, what a great place to live. And working at the Noble Frankfurter and then the Dartmouth Bar and Grill while still going to dental school. And today I have a dental office with a team that works hard to make our patients feel so important (which they are)
I have an incredible family, a wonderful and beautiful wife and two great kids. Is everything perfect…no, but I do believe that is why we are human.
So the real issue is the mining for gold. Why do I feel I have to go looking for gold when there are diamonds all around me? I believe that is it my perception, nothing more and nothing less. If I choose to look at the chaos around me in the world around me then I go mining for gold. If I have expectations that are not met, then I go mining for gold. If I judge myself too harshly, then I go mining for gold.
It is all about me. So for today, for this moment, and hopefully, whenever I catch myself mining for gold I will see that I am surrounded by diamonds, some of which are so integrated in my life. Today, I am richer than the De Beer’s company.