For some reason I became fascinated of late with the saying, “the world is your oyster”. I wondered why people use that saying as something encouraging to propel you forward in your life so I decided to look into the life of an oyster.
The
idiom “the world is your oyster” is supposed to mean you have endless freedom,
choices, and opportunities to do or go wherever you want in life. It is true
that we are free to go anywhere and do anything, however, even though our
potential is vast, not all endless possibilities culminate in success.
And
here is an interesting analogy. In nature, only about 1 in every 10,000 wild
oysters develops a pearl. Pearls form when an irritant like a parasite or a
grain of sand enters the shell. The oyster covers the irritant with layers of
mother-of-pearl to protect its soft body. In other words, the oyster is
stronger than the irritant that comes into its life and it turns that irritant
into a magnificent, rare pearl…..it turns its misfortune into a fortune.
Honestly, I don’t know who the hero of this situation is, the oyster or the
pearl. I’d say the oyster even though the pearl’s value is greater because the
oyster is the creator of the pearl. The pearl is the success of the oyster.
Perhaps
the oyster teaches us that real beauty cannot be born without the invading
forces of opposition. Its resilience in protecting itself must yield beauty of
character in the midst of survival. It’s something I am hoping for myself. Like
a lot of people, I have had a hard life…..I am in my third major trial. It has
been going for two years now. I am struggling with isolation, incapacity,
depression and physical pain. Because of it, I have come to view myself in a
very lowly way and have looked back on my life as a thing of insignificance. I struggle
to put any value to it.
All
this has made me reflect on the life of the Saviour and how bleak and
unproductive His life seemed to so many when He ended up on the cross. Imagine
the Saviour who had just been crucified and suffered an unimaginable death
meeting the two disciples on the road to Emmaus who expressed their
disappointment that His life did not culminate in redemption of Israel (Luke
24:17,21). They basically said, “we thought this was it”. Never did it occur to
them that the Saviour had indeed just redeemed Israel but not in the way they
thought.
While
the Jews forced the disciples into hiding (John 20:19) and attempted to contain
the movement by sealing the tomb (Matthew 27:63-66), Jesus was met with
righteous spirits in the spirit world who recognised the triumph of His life
and death….”they were filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together
because the day of their deliverance was at hand (D&C 138:15). How
differently things are viewed from the earthly vantage point to the eternal
one!
My
lament of late has been the possibility of death devoid of dignity. Here again
I have reflected on Christ who was spit upon, rejected, tortured and crucified
naked on the side of a highway without any dignity whatsoever. The Romans were
brutal with crucifixion seeking not just death but to degrade and humiliate
their victims.
I
wonder if some oysters think their life has not amounted to much because they
never produced a pearl and therefore met with undignified death. I think I’ll
focus on the Saviour and the pearl He produced beyond price.
I want to remember the beauty
Of my life like that
Surrendered by the withered rose;
I want to remember all the
moments of my life
Near and far,
I want to take them with me
Like priceless jewels
When I am called to cross the bar.
-
Cathryne
Allen
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