Every person you meet carries treasure.
Most of it remains hidden.
The question is…
Are you willing to dig for it?
Years ago, I went panning for gold in Oregon.
You find a stream.
Grab a pan.
Get to work.
You swirl the water.
Shake the gravel.
Remove the rocks.
Over and over again.
Most of the time you find nothing.
Then suddenly…
A tiny gold flake appears.
The treasure was there all along.
It simply required patience to uncover it.
So it is with people.
IT’S IN THERE…
DON’T WORRY ABOUT THAT.
Every human being carries treasures within.
Wisdom.
Experience.
Understanding.
Insight.
Truth.
Purpose.
Some people know these treasures exist.
Others have forgotten they are there.
Many have buried them so deeply that they rarely see them themselves.
The treasure remains.
Waiting patiently to be discovered.
HOW DO YOU FIND IT?
One way is through conversation.
Not ordinary conversation.
Not surface conversation.
Meaningful conversation.
Honest conversation.
Curious conversation.
The kind where two people explore together.
The kind where questions matter.
The kind where listening becomes more important than talking.
When people feel safe enough to share honestly, remarkable things begin to happen.
Truth surfaces.
Understanding grows.
Treasures appear.
TRY THIS WAY TOO.
There is another path.
Silence.
Stillness.
Reflection.
Many people spend so much time in their thoughts that they never hear what lies beneath them.
The mind talks constantly.
The soul whispers.
To hear the whisper, sometimes the noise must stop.
Become still.
Step out of the endless mental conversation.
Stay present long enough.
Sooner or later, something valuable rises to the surface.
An insight.
A realization.
A truth that was waiting patiently for your attention.
SMALL TALK SELDOM REACHES GOLD.
There is nothing wrong with casual conversation.
But it rarely uncovers treasure.
Treasures require patience.
Time.
Trust.
Curiosity.
Most people reveal themselves one layer at a time.
The deeper the treasure, the deeper the digging.
As I wrote in Pearls for the Soul:
“The answers you seek are often hidden beneath the questions you avoid.”
— Richie Naggar, Pearls for the Soul
IF YOU DON’T LIKE TO ARGUE…
DON’T GET MARRIED.
Marriage taught me something valuable.
So did counseling others.
Many times, people stop digging just before they reach the gold.
The conversation becomes uncomfortable.
Pride appears.
Defensiveness shows up.
The ego digs in its heels.
Then people quit.
The treasure remains buried.
Yet if both parties stay the course…
If they remain respectful…
If they keep searching…
Eventually something breaks open.
And there it is.
Gold.
Understanding.
Truth.
Healing.
Breakthrough.
NEVER GIVE UP.
Sir Winston Churchill said those famous words.
They apply to conversations too.
The easy thing is to walk away.
The difficult thing is to stay present.
Stay curious.
Stay respectful.
Stay engaged.
Sometimes another person’s breakthrough requires your patience.
Sometimes your own breakthrough requires theirs.
That is why meaningful relationships are so valuable.
AHHHH…
HENRY DAVID THOREAU.
Henry David Thoreau gave us one of the most powerful observations ever spoken:
“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”
Think about that.
A song never sung.
A gift never shared.
A truth never discovered.
A purpose never fulfilled.
What a tragedy.
TO BE QUIETLY DESPERATE
IS NOT YOUR CALLING.
The gold within you was never meant to remain buried.
Your gifts.
Your talents.
Your wisdom.
Your experiences.
Your story.
These things were given to be shared.
A gold mine that is never explored benefits no one.
A treasure hidden forever remains only potential.
Truth is the same way.
It must be discovered.
It must be brought into the light.
It must be lived.
BUT YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND…
If you find yourself arguing simply to defend your position, pause.
Arguments often protect what conversations are trying to reveal.
Remain open.
Remain teachable.
Risk vulnerability.
Risk honesty.
Risk being known.
The greatest treasures in life are rarely found on the surface.
They are found by those willing to explore.
To converse.
To dialog.
To listen.
To stay.
And to keep digging until gold appears.
The treasure is there.
In you.
In others.
Go mining.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you