Growing a Pearl: Examining Grit

We’ve been talking about grit for this month’s theme, how you can grow it, and what it means to us. But what if we were a tad more literal for just a moment. Let’s talk about the rewards of grit in adversity, and the oyster and the pearl. Let’s see how we can channel our inner oyster and embrace grit!

I know I’ve had a lot of adversity in my life. I’ve been on the streets and through the wringer a time or two. What got me through it was being gritty. Merriam-Webster defines grit in a couple different ways, but the fourth definition is what I’m getting at today. ” firmness of mind or spirit: unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger”. When I was going through the hard times, I was tapping into that grit to get me to the other side.

The Sand

The world is filled with trials and tribulations. You don’t have to look very far in your life to find someone struggling with something overwhelming their lives. Trouble is as ubiquitous as the sand at the beach, and it doesn’t take much looking to find some. While my experiences with perseverance in the face of my personal adversities may differ from your own struggles, we all carry our own burdens through this life.

Our troubles are more like the literal grit than the figurative grit. They grind at us and give us little peace. They color our views of life, and teach us things about ourselves that we would otherwise never know. By persevering through our troubles, we discover how strong and resilient we really are. But those hardships change us, and leave scars and marks that define who we are today.

The Oyster

Oysters are pretty neat creatures. They take adversity and turn it into a beautiful thing – a pearl. What I mean by that, is that oysters deal with grit on a daily. I thought, like a lot of you, that oysters turn sand into pearls. Not true. The gross truth is that sea worms are responsible for natural pearls. But don’t be too grossed out and throw away your pearl necklace from Grandma, yet! Most pearls are grown around a small sphere of mother of pearl that pearl farmers put into the oysters.

What does this have to do with you? Because oysters, like you, know how to deal with hard times. They encase the irritant in a hard shell, so it can’t bother them. I’m not saying we should all bottle up our feelings, what I’m saying is by dealing with the troubles, the oyster gets over it, and in doing so, creates beauty.

Finding beauty in tragedy is not only a cool trick that the oyster does, it’s also essential to moving on. Rather than getting sick and dying, the oyster perseveres and gets through it. By dealing with the yucky stuff, we too are able to move on and look back at the beauty of our trials and tribulations. We appreciate the grit it took to push us to become the person that we are.

The Pearl

You also might think, like I did, that oysters die when the pearls are taken from them. Not true! Oyster farmers carefully remove the pearl with surgical instruments specially designed for the purpose. Not only that, but the older oysters get, the better pearls they will make. Like us, oysters with experience become more adapt at solving problems the more problems are thrown at them.

By sticking through the hard times, we are rewarded with a beautiful experience that grows us as a person. By not giving in, learning to fail, and making mistakes, we become gritty, strong people who can take on anything that life can throw at us. And oysters, like people, need help. Asking for help is not being weak, it’s sometimes the grittiest thing that you can do!

I guess what I’m really trying to say it that the most amazing people I’ve ever met have been through some incredibly hard stuff. By rising to the occasion, and dealing with life on life’s terms, they came through on the other side more beautiful than they ever could have imagined. And I know that I’m a more beautiful person because of the things that I’ve been through. My life has been rife with opportunities to make pearls. And it’s not over yet!

Embracing Your Grit

So we learned something from the oyster. By embracing adversity and trouble, we learn and grow as people. We adorn our crowns, if you will, with pearls of wisdom and perseverance.

What kinds of troubles did you experience in your life have grown your pearls? How have you found the beauty in pain and tragedy in your life? Please share your experience, strengths and hopes with me! Until next time!

Photo Credits:

The Sand – John Lok

Oyster pearl – Anna