"Pearls were accidents, and the finding of one was luck, a little pat on the back by God or the gods or both." ― John Steinbeck
Happy St. Patrick's Day, and I hope it's a lucky week for you! I'm getting my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Friday, so I'm feeling luck and gratitude beyond measure. For scraping your way through this last year, I say we're all blessed with pots of gold levels of luck for hanging in there, together.
John Steinbeck's The Pearl is one of my favorites, and I love how this week's quote from that novella mentions luck - and pearls. Let's talk about pearls for a minute. The most valuable of all pearls are formed out in the wild in uncontrolled environments, without any human intervention. Every pearl is born of danger and defense. Certain mollusks protect themselves against potential threats such as parasites or injury to its tissue by creating a pearl sac as an immune response to seal off the irritant. How can hazardous threats get inside the shell of a mollusk? When its shell valves open to eat or breathe. Pearls are iridescent because of the way light dances between its translucent layers, and the more thin layers that are added to the pearl over time, the more transfixing it becomes.
Just for getting through this historic era, are we not pearls? I feel transformed by this past year as a result of its challenges and deeply proud of the ways I handled those challenges - with grace and grit. Is this why we offer others our "pearls of wisdom," because they are so preciously earned through hardships we faced and forged through?
I hope these times continue to offer beautiful layers to your being, allowing you to one day glimmer brilliantly in the sun when you are plucked from your shell, to share your homegrown luminescence with the world. All the world is waiting to find you too, all you accidental pearls, ready to shine.
Contact Nine Muses Travel when you're ready to learn more about me and about what I can do for you!
I design journeys that inspire by highlighting local arts and culture, history, and cuisine for intellectually curious clients longing to feel deeply inspired by exciting destinations, culinary delights, and authentic cultural experiences on a life-changing, joyful journey of discovery.
Danielle Dybiec
Founder & President