How do you make a diamond? Matthew Sweet will show you the way.
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Can you write with stones?
I’d crouch there, dragging the stone across the ground. Sometimes I’d write words we weren’t supposed to understand at that age.
The mixture of defacing the ground, profanity and process you don’t understand held a certain allure for me as a child.
I understand it now. The Mohs scale measures the hardness of a mineral. The harder material can scratch the weaker one. That’s why I could write with a stone.
On the Mohs scale, diamond is rated as 10. It has an absolute hardness of 1600.
The making of a man
Which brings to mind the kids at school that everyone was scared of. You know the ones that liked to fight and took pleasure in their ability to intimidate others. I don’t think I knew any people that were 1600 in absolute hardness.
I’ve met some topaz in my time (topaz has an absolute hardness of just 200). A topaz heart is one that is full of intimidation, judgment and contempt. Topaz crumbles under pressure.
Now back to diamonds…
Flicking through my commonplace book (see note at end of the article) this morning, I was reminded about something I read about how diamonds are created. It’s pretty simple.
A Diamond = Substance + Time + Pressure.
Intrigued by my highly scientific formula, I started to read more about diamond formation.
As you would expect, it gets more complicated. But I think the formula is useful when applied to your person.
Look at it like this.
- Substance equals you.
- Time equals your experience.
- Pressure equals the adversity you face.
The mineral form of diamond is relatively rare. But the human form of diamond is not.
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The mineral form of diamond is relatively rare. But the human form of diamond is not. You can improve each of the three components in your life:
- You can learn and grow.
- You can have better experiences.
- You can expose yourself to more pressure.
Which means that you, and anyone else, can become a diamond.
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