So why pearls of wisdom? Other than a play on my name….

Pearls form when an injury occurs and/or an irritant works its way into an oyster, mussel, or clam shell. As a defense mechanism, a fluid is produced and used to form a layer around the irritant or at the site of injury. Layer upon layer is deposited until the precious pearl is formed.

An irritant as tiny as grains of sand can cause aggravation, when it is stuck between your toes, in your sandwiches or worse still, in your eyes. The impact depends on when and where and how much, but most importantly what we do about it.

In life, many things can enter that feel like those grains of sand. They can cause minor annoyance to severe upheaval – so what will we do about them?

Injury can come in many guises. Physical pain and struggles can be the result, as can emotional distress and damage. They can be produced by accidental assault or intentional actions. We can be the cause of them as much as we can be on the receiving end.

How we learn to react to all of these things will be, at least in part, what defines us. These events can develop those pearls of wisdom and beauty within us or they can be the very things that destroy us.

As with real pearls it takes time, lots of it, and lots of patience and particularly precise work.

I often think about what defines me, what makes me me, what defines us as a family, what defines us as a school, a church or a nation. Do we really know?

It is a question that I ask teachers in training. What makes you you? Who will you be for those students in front of you? If we don’t know, we can too easily be swayed by what everyone else wants us to be and lose sight of who we really are and who we can really be.

The important point here is that you are the only one, true, unique, precious and special you, no one can ‘do’ you, better than you!

Children and young people, if they are ours, or are born to someone else, they need us to know who we are, so that we can help them learn who they are and ultimately how they should interact with the world around them. Giving them roots to be grounded but also wings to fly to set them free.

Pearls have a form of iridescence that means that the colour of the pearl changes according to the angle from which it is seen.

What will people see in me? In you? In us?

The beauty and purity of a little baby without the cares of this life?

The wonder and delight of a toddler exploring their own little world?

The excitement and gratitude of a child with so much to learn out there?

The anger and frustration of a moody teenager battling with all the struggles of transition?

The passion and exuberance of young adults who are going to change the world?

The bored and stagnant murmurings before a midlife crisis?

The acceptance and mellowing of relaxation in the maturing generation?

The scared and lonely person in old age wondering if the world has all but forgotten them?

Possibly a bit of everything at different times from different angles!

I would want to be defined by my passion, care, love and commitment.

How about you?