Carbon

Here on earth, there is an abundance of life. That I'm aware of, we usually consider all these life forms to be "Carbon-based" life. I was pondering on that term, when an entirely new thought entered my mind, and it is the topic on which I'd like to write.

Carbon, depending on it's form, can be one of the cheapest and abundant resources we have, or it can be one of the most expensive and rarest that we encounter.

I'll start with the first: Coal. Coal is one of the most abundant sources of fossil-fuel we still have left. It's all over the place in some areas. In Wyoming, where I grew up, a person can go pick up a load of coal for pretty much nothing. Much of the coal is at, or just below the surface of the earth, making it easy to find, easy to mine, and easy to burn.

The second: Diamonds. Made of the same carbon as coal, these gems are very rare and are highly sought after. Finding them is very difficult and expensive. Mining them requires much skill, and women just can't seem to get enough of them.

I find it odd that 2 things made of the same substance could be regarded so differently as to their worth and use. Now, I'm no geologist, but if I was ever asked to explain the difference between the two, I'd have to say that the difference lies in their "life experience."

Coal and other fossil fuels are the remains of plants and animals, basically a bunch of carbon that ended up in the same spot. Coal's life is pretty basic and simple. It's creation is more of a consequence of the carbon-based life breaking down than anything. The coal is brittle, dirty, and after it's been burning for a couple minutes, it's extremely disposable and fairly unwanted.

Diamonds, on the other hand, have "lives" that are much more difficult. They pass through extreme heat and pressure, that slowly, over time, turn the carbon into one of the most exquisite and expensive gems on the face of the earth. Their worth increases over time and nobody would consider throwing them out.

Humans are also carbon based; however, their fate is much more up to their choosing than that of the dead plants and animals.

There are those who want a life of ease, wanting to be like everybody else and get their moment in the spot-light. Perhaps without realizing it, they become the coal: Easily found, crudely formed and molded into something that the world can use for a quick moment and then dispose of. The light gained from burning the coal is brief, but I suppose the coal could see itself as having some purpose.

There are others, the Diamonds. They are those people willing to go through the intense heat and pressure of difficult lives. Slowly, over time, they develop into something incredible. They're hard to find, but once found, they can be cleaned, cut, and polished. With each difficult cut, they are shaped and molded by a masterful hand. Once they've taken their proper and unique shape, they are polished and shown to the world as something of much higher value.

I guess the question for this post is.... What have you chosen to be? The coal or the diamond?