More Than Just Jewels

In life jewels may not be that important after all.

One day, two very proud Egyptian Jewelers were on the street, debating who had the biggest, most beautiful diamonds. 

“I’ve got the biggest diamonds!” shouted one man. The other said, “Well, I’ve got the most beautiful diamonds!” Their voices were loud and angry, just like Congressmen in the Philippines.

A third man approached them and smiled, “My name is Ibrahim Matta Zakariya Yunus Al-Yasa Efraim Dawud bin Tariq bin Khalid Al-Fulan.”

“What?” the two Jewelers asked.

“Just call me Ib for short. I’m also a Jeweler. May I tell you a story?” Before they could answer, Ib continued, “One day, I was going to another city to sell my diamonds. And I had to cross a large dessert. But that day, a fierce sandstorm came out of nowhere. It was the biggest and fiercest sandstorms I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. And I lost my way in the desert. After many days wandering, I was dying of starvation…”

“Oh no…” said the Jewelers, “What did you do?” The two men had totally forgotten their argument and were now totally mesmerized by Ib’s story. (That is why I propose that when Congressmen are debating uselessly, they should show Korean and Mexican Telenovelas during their sessions. There will be less fights.)

“I sat on the sands, giving up all hope,” Ib said, “but mindlessly, I went through my bags for the hundredth time. Lo and behold, I saw a hidden pocket I didn’t see before. I opened it and saw a black pouch! Oh, you can imagine how excited I was. Perhaps it was food, I told myself. And so with trembling fingers, I opened it…”

“Was it food?” one Jeweler asked.

“Water perhaps?” the other one said.

“Neither. With great dismay and utter frustration, I saw that the pouch was filled with nothing else but diamonds. It was just diamonds!”

From Bo Sanchez's Blog