How do oysters make pearls?

Letting go of one's protective shell can be very scary. As one client says, "It comes at a price." The price is the ability to feel. And feeling is very scary indeed.

To feel means to experience pain. But without pain there is no healing. Without pain it is difficult to empathize with others and to feel compassion for them.

Without pain there truly is no gain.

The formation of a natural pearl begins when a foreign substance enters an oyster. The oyster reacts to this occurrence by excreting a substance which covers up the irritant. The layers of this substance eventually form a pearl.

So, too, we have a choice as to how to react to emotional pain. We can be devastated by it or we can protect ourselves by covering it up and transforming it into a beautiful pearl.