Who having known the Diamond...

“Who having known the Diamond will concern himself with glass?”

I like this quotation from Rudyard Kipling's autobiographical work Something of Myself very much.

Kipling's words go straight to the heart. They say to me that people who have encountered the best will not settle for or want to be involved with anything less. I see his words as a very neat and clever way of saying that anyone who has experienced the real thing will not be fooled by a counterfeit or a cheap copy.

I know from experience that this is not always the case. Some people ignore, avoid and reject the diamond and home in on and embrace the glass. I have seen innumerable examples of such twisted values in the past, and often wondered why this should be.

I am not talking about people who have never seen, heard of, read about, experienced or imagined the best, the real deal; some people have low horizons and few opportunities. I am not talking about people who are unable to recognise differences, make comparisons or grade and classify what they encounter; some people have limited understanding and little ability to look at things objectively.

I am not talking either about people whose diamonds may look like glass to other people; sometimes 'diamond' may just mean the most suitable, or the best that someone can envisage, achieve and attain.

Here are a few examples from my own experience.

Work is one area where I very much go for the diamond. I remember being impressed by some senior colleagues when I started a new job. Then some American consultants came over to manage things. They were very high-powered, efficient and professional; they were obviously a cut above my colleagues. I realised that I had been worshipping false gods, so I transferred my allegiance to the Americans – for the best of reasons. I wanted to work for people I could respect and learn a lot from; I wanted people who would show me what was possible. I might never reach their level, but I would grow and develop by trying.

I was not happy when they went back to the US, and always looked for more people of the same standard. I had known the diamond and didn't want to have to return to the glass.

I remember two very different men with very different approaches to their employees or followers.

One took over as the new CEO where I was working. He soon became concerned about the high turnover of staff before he joined. He said that some of them seemed very able people, and he wanted to know why they had left so he could do something about it and prevent more resignations.

The other man behaved very badly when his people defected:

“Good riddance to the traitors. Their names must never be mentioned again.”

He drove many of his best people away, and was left with followers who were much less able than the ones that got away. He deliberately chose the glass over the diamonds.

After seeing how both kinds of leaders behave, I would never want to be involved again with someone who did not want any criticism or rivals so preferred mindless obedience to merit. In the long term, the second man got what he deserved. He had to live with the disastrous results of his policies, ideologies, decisions and actions.

I expect that this will also happen to a conspiracy forum I used to contribute to. One by one, almost all of their best people have been banned, made inactive or just stopped posting. One of them said that people who are capable of critical thinking are unwelcome so are driven away. There is hardly anything worth reading there now, and the standard of the posts is very low. The moderators have seen high-quality posts but they are favouring unthreatening, low-class posters. The diamonds have gone elsewhere and they are left with the glass.

Glass and synchronicity

Sometimes, something that is very much on my mind manifests in the real world. While working on this article, I decided that even if I had the choice, I would rather have a coloured glass necklace than one made from real diamonds. I was mentally composing some paragraphs when I went into a charity shop I happened to be passing to see if they had anything I might like. Many people say that these shops have run dry, but I often find what I think of as treasures.

I saw a bunch of green glass bead necklaces. The price was very reasonable, so I decided to get one. I had trouble removing it; I couldn't disentangle it as I couldn't find the tie. Then I realised that it was just one, multi-strand necklace. It was an amazing bargain and I love it.

There is another aspect of interest to this little story. I was given a peridot-green bead necklace as a Christmas present; I assumed at first that the beads were plastic, so was delighted when I realised that they were made of glass. I showed it off and told several people how much I liked it. This gratitude and appreciation may have earned me an even better glass necklace.