Diamonds and Stones

Last Updated on June 17, 2021 by Avia

John Denver, My Mom and Simple Reminders of Love During Tough Times

Some days are diamonds, some days are stones: When I was a kid, I had a horrible time in school. I didn’t fit in. -Didn’t look right. Didn’t talk right. It just seemed everything about me was awkward, wrong or the epitome of social disaster. Of course, this made adjusting and getting through school an endless procession of tears, drama, and angst that only youth can produce.

Diamonds or Stones, This too Shall Pass

Enter my beloved mom. Bless her heart. Mom recognized my struggles and always did her best to give me a boost when she could. Just about every day, mom made me a brown-bag lunch for school. One of her savvy tactics to uplift my morose moods was to write inspirational messages and put them in my lunch.

Diamonds and Stones — Simple reminders that you are loved – and it WILL get better!

She would make these messages in clever ways…drawing little pictures like hearts or smiley faces. This was in the 70’s, dude…WAY before emoji’s! One of my favorite pictogram-love-notes mom packed in my brown bag lunch was a line from John Denver’s classic song….

“Some days are diamonds,
some days are stones.”
~John Denver

It’s a simple enough statement, but for various reasons, it stuck with me. This was the reminder I needed that sometimes things just blow chunks…but days will follow that sparkle like gems of joy.

What I really found interesting is that diamonds are essentially rocks. Under high pressure and heat, they form into dazzling beauties. It’s the same way with the human spirit. Very often, it takes the pressure of life to get us to the point where we shine and sparkle.

We all need reminders like this: Notes of hope in our brown-bag lunches. Mementos that encourage strength under pressure. The encouragement that no matter how bad it gets, there is always hope for better days.

So if you know somebody who is struggling, send them a love-note. Doodle some sentiments that uplift and inspire. Bake cookies, pack them in a brown bag along with a bunch of reminders that are encouraging and mood-boosting.

Whatever way you want to do it is up to you – but I am willing to bet my lunch the recipient will be overjoyed and better prepared to tackle another day with your thoughtfulness.

As always, thanks for reading!

Mighty brightly,