THE DIAMOND WITHIN US

MAKE YOURSELF A PROMISE

Always listen to yourself, love yourself, respect yourself, and take good care of yourself.

Here I am again, greeting you from the pages of a picture book!

In a previous piece of mine, “Paper Dolls,” I had talked about how picture books are ageless — how the images speak more than the sparse words, how their meaning touches people of all ages. Now, once again, I’d like to talk about another timeless book: “The Jewel Within Us.”

Even the title says so much to us, no matter our age, doesn’t it?

The jewel within us is incredibly precious. It's been with us since birth. It just sits there. We don’t always see it, but we know it’s there. Feeling its presence always brings comfort. It gives us courage to learn, motivation to create. Who we truly are is hidden inside that jewel, and it’s the jewel that tells us what we’re capable of...Most importantly, it makes us feel that we are valuable. It draws us closer to ourselves.

Then we grow up. (Suddenly.)

We grow up fast. (As if we’re in a hurry.)

We become adults. (Proudly so.)

As we grow, distance comes between us and our jewel. More and more people around us seem to have a problem with that inner jewel. Some don’t want it to exist at all. In the anxiety of being unwanted, we abandon our jewel. And with that, comes the fear of not being loved.Our fears begin to wrap themselves around the jewel. We start to dread that if others notice our jewel, they won’t accept us. We ache from not being like everyone else.Yet that jewel is what made us shine uniquely.We begin to want to dim it.To erase it.The fear of rejection, of judgment, of criticism, of not being loved — of being alone — pulls us further and further from our sparkle.

And now, our jewel feels so far away.

We betray ourselves.The more layers we put between us and the jewel, the stronger those layers become.And each layer pushes us further away — from ourselves, from everything that makes us us.

As the jewel drifts further behind these layers, we stop recognizing ourselves. We lose connection with all that defines us.This is where alienation begins.We start craving more love, more acceptance, more affirmation — and the more we crave, the more we lose ourselves.

But what if the opposite were true?

What if we never hid the jewel we were born with?

What if we never tucked it behind those layers of fear?

What if we had lovingly protected everything that made us unique — locked them in a precious box that only we could open?

What would that life look like?

We’d be surrounded by people who support our true selves.We’d live among those who allow us to act from the heart.Our jewel would always shine.

In a space where we are accepted just as we are — loved, respected, embraced with unconditional kindness — our jewel could shine freely. But for that to happen, we must first claim it. After all, it was born with us.

If our jewel is struggling to shine through the layers, then our only effort must be this:Start peeling the layers away.

Face each one. Say goodbye to it. Focus on seeing the truth. And as we make peace with each layer, we begin to move closer to our jewel again.

The book says, “It’s not an easy journey.”

But if the journey brings us back to ourselves, isn’t it worth it?

The journey itself is beautiful — a journey from us to us.

And that is the most precious thing of all.

The book is written by Anna Llenas.

When you read it — no matter your age — you’ll find yourself wishing you had read it sooner. Some books are like that. They don’t talk for long. They hide their magical sentences between big, bold illustrations. They capture you with simple, quiet words and pull you in.Picture books say a lot to adults — with so few words.

And with inspiration from such a book, I wanted to remind you of the jewel within.

Let’s feel around for our layers.Let’s face them, one by one,So we can reach our jewel — polish it —And let it guide us again.

Let’s see: what cycles will it help us break?What new paths will it reveal?

Zarife TARAKÇI