The Necklace

So, I had a three day weekend and instead of getting much done, I laid in bed half the time. Yep, some headaches and some sinus stuff has me sitting here in bed.

Never fear, when I can't sleep I read more from the Reader's Digest.

I came across a wonderful little story called "Diamonds are for Sharing" taken from a book called "The Necklace" by Cheryl Jarvis. Oh, and it's a true story.

A woman sees a beautiful $35,000 diamond necklace when she is walking through the mall one day. She thought it was beautiful, but didn't have enough money to buy it and wondered who would ever be able to purchase it. Either way she remembered it and wondered how it would feel to own it. (I would probably just go try to find the fake version on QVC or something. This lady was more creative) Her mother gave her the idea that perhaps if she could share it with some friends they could go in on it together.

Well, long story short, the necklace came down in price over a few months and she ended up getting about 12-13 women to go in on it with her. They would get it for a few weeks a year and they would get together in between and share the experiences they had while wearing it. Soon they all became even better friends as a result of this necklace.

What a creative idea! Sometimes we don't think we deserve some things, or we perhaps have other priorities. But, that doesn't mean there isn't a way to enjoy something. Who needs a diamond necklace everyday anyway? Sometimes we just want to have the taste of luxury for a little while. Perhaps with the economy the way it is, more of us will be buying homes, cars and other stuff in this shared manner. Hmm. My head is starting to roll with ideas already. I think there is a luxury purse site out there already where you can rent a nice purse for a week.

Anyway, the diamond necklace wasn't a necessity. However, the elegance, the value, the beauty - it all did provide some kind of happiness for these women. Even when they weren't wearing the necklace themselves, they were brought together because of the meaning associated with the necklace. Talking about it and sharing it brought a few women from different walks of life together.

So, in the end, it really wasn't about the necklace. It was about the friendship and support that came as a result.

The great underlying story was the fact that the jewelry owner wanted to give a good deal to the women once he found out what they were doing. His wife, the bookkeeper, didn't want to lower the price because they wouldn't profit. He made the deal with the women on the condition that they would let his wife be a part owner and become part of their group. She had some life difficulties that had gotten her down, but being in the group brought her an entire new group of friends in her time of need.

Good story.

See, Reader's Digest is a great little inspirational magazine.