Lapidary is the process in which the cutting and polishing of gems occurs. We start with a rough stone that then gets cobbed (lightly hammered to remove the brittle fractured materials). Then it is cut, ground, sanded and tumbled. After the rough part is completed it is polished by a progressive abrasion using finer and finer grits of hard surface until a true gem is revealed.
This work is quite similar to the work we must do in order to see wonderful results in the end. Something desired and sought after emerges from the raw material. To the trained eye the innate beauty of the raw stone is visible from the start. Just as is the quality and potential within us all. Just as it is hard and tedious work to polish the raw stone into a beautiful and lustrous gem, it is hard work to bring out the luster in our hard work, but it is there.
Our daily work grounds us and refines us and ultimately polishes us to show our true and beautiful workmanship. Remember my dog Yoder, and the lessons we learned from him? His constant fetch and catch is serious work. Yet his passion for this work supersedes the tedious nature. If you are passionate and truly love your work it will be evident in all you set out to do. Your passion will not only make your work worthwhile but it will seem much easier as well.
I love what Ralph Waldo Emerson said – “Don’t waste life in doubts and fears, spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour’s duties will be the best preparation for the hours and ages that will follow it.”