Collecting Pearls

          Every profession has its trade secrets, its pearls of wisdom central to success. Most of those sparkling gems are not literal secrets, but rather key principles that must be understood at a fundamental, almost instinctual level for mastery of the craft.
          Baseball players “keep their eye on the ball.” Tennis players focus endlessly on “follow through” to direct the tennis ball exactly where it ought to go.
          Perhaps you had teachers who shared their pearls with you in a proverbial or even poetic form. “Look before you leap. Listen before you speak.”
          Maybe you had teachers who shared their very lives with you. They never put their life principles into words, but you studied their habits, and you remember the way they handled adversity. In moments of crisis, you follow their example. You may ask aloud, “What would my teacher have done?” Alternatively, you might not verbalize any question but simply respond as they would have. Later, as you reflect on the events of a memorable day, you sense something odd poking against your leg. You thrust your hand deep into your pocket and discover . . . a pearl. It used to belong to your teacher, but now it’s yours.
          My grandfather, Robert Leroy Thompson, left me a pearl about saving money. He grew up in the Great Depression. At age eighteen, his father gave him a hundred dollars and wished him well. Living on his own, Robert quickly dropped thirty pounds that he could scarcely afford to lose. He waited tables in exchange for shelter and food while learning accounting skills. He scrimped and saved, worked his way up in various companies, and ultimately put four sons and many grandchildren through college. He gave his descendants the opportunity he never had. On top of all that, when he died, he left an inheritance for his children’s children.
          I was a teenager when my grandfather invited me to walk three brisk miles with him after supper. He had a permanently bent index finger that would never straighten because, at the time he broke it, he lacked the resources to fix it properly. My grandfather raised that rigid finger into the orange light of the setting sun. “A wise man once told me to always save ten percent of what you earn.” He turned his twinkling eye my way. “But I did one step better. I saved twenty percent.”
          Sometimes we stumble across old pearls, right when we need them most. Last week, I mentioned my chronic pain problem in a post titled “One Thing.” An astute reader, who knows me well and understands fibromyalgia, wrote, “When did your low-dose naltrexone stop working?” My medication had not stopped working, but a dosing increase was due. I tripled the dose, and my pain decreased. Unfortunately, I also lost the ability to take initiative, and my writing suffered. I reduced the medication halfway back toward the original dose and found a better compromise.
          The dose matters. One of my patients is an accomplished chef.  “My favorite food is salt,” he says. “In the right dose, it brings all other flavors to life.” I remind him that it also raises blood pressure.
          Are you a collector of pearls? If so, have you written them down and shared them? Below is the three-paragraph essay I wrote while overdosed on low-dose naltrexone. It lacked context before, but now the metaphor is clear.

          What will you do with your pearls? The necklace. The earrings. Would you like the undertaker, after you die, to dress you finely and decorate your corpse with all your pearls? Wouldn’t that be lovely? To have them draped around your neck? That way, if somebody in the future ever dug up your coffin and inspected your few remaining bones, you could impress them with your finery.
          Or will you choose a different path? Will you collect your pearls and give them away? Will you package them elegantly for a beloved granddaughter, and in a private conversation, explain how each pearl became yours, when you wore them, and what they meant to you?
          What will you do with your pearls?

          I’d be delighted to explore the theme of pearls in greater depth if readers express an interest. Which angle seems most intriguing to you?

• What kinds of pearls are there, and how do we gather them? (Serious)
• The arrival of the Super Duper Pearl Replicator, both parts: transmitter and receiver (Ridiculous)
• First trials of the HD MD-WRIT (Hyperdimensional Matter Duplicator-Word Replicator, Incinerator, and Transmitter (Preposterous)
• Breakthrough (Who knows)

          Thank you for reading, for thinking, and for sharing your pearls with others. Tell me your stories, and I’ll tell you mine.

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