Of course there's a return on investment. We just can't print it here

(This post is a part of Gwen Bell's The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. Thanks for the great inspiration idea, Amy!)

Best Article of 09

I wish there was a job titled Inspirationalist. The description would be to find inspiration anywhere, think on it, then act on it. It would be very high paying (with good benefits!) and I'd apply for it STAT. One of the things I love about blogging is that there is so much Inspiration out there from fellow bloggers and if it is not inspiration, then it is food for thought. There's nothing I love more than reading a coherent blog post over coffee that really gets me thinking when I am too incoherent for words! Sometimes the process of imbibing all the information and inspiration sort of blows my mind.

I'll be honest, often things in my reader go in one ear (um...eye?) and out the other, or they get put on some sort of mental shelf waiting for attention, even though I know it will probably only be to gather dust (Craft Ideas: I'm looking at you, unfortunately.) Once in a while, however, I find something that not only sticks with me, it keeps falling off that mental shelf right at my feet where I find myself tripping over it so repetitively that I am forced to deal with it and find a permanent place to store it in my life (or you know, bookmark it at least!). Anil Dash's oldie but goodie diatribe about diamond marketing really did that for me this year when I came across it playing link hopscotch, and it was something I ended up sending to a number of people because it was not only funny and accurate, but at this point in my life it's totally relevant.

Now we all know how eeeeeevil the diamond industry is -- THANKYOUVERYMUCH Leonardo DiCaprio -- and truth be told, I'm not really a diamond gal. I mean I love jewelry, but I'm more into chunky (read: cheap) costume jewelry -- what can I say, I lose things. And I've never really been one for the manufactured meaning of Tiffany's or longed for a growing sparkly gemstone collection; however, as an un-married gal in a committed relationship there is a part of me that wants to partake in a little blingy rite of passage and I've always been a bit conflicted about that (no pun intended). I know that the diamond industry is not something that is aligned with my values -- both because of the human rights violations as well as the dishonesty that goes along with the price fixing and competition controlling that DeBeers is known for -- but I am not made of wood, people! And I've gotten really good at rationalizing, too -- I mean, what's one more diamond ring? Especially if it's "conflict- free". And of course I'm not even talking about some rare behemoth J. Lo rock either, so there's that. Tasteful twinkle -- it's different, right?

But it took Anil's article to really ice the already highly stacked cake against diamonds in my mind. Not only are they inherently worthless and morally evil (I know, inflammatory adjective alert!) but seriously when it comes to the way the diamond industry markets their products, he hits the nail on the head by identifying that the diamond industry is calling us and our partners nagging, helpless, chauvinist, idiots -- and not only are we eating it up, but we are begging for more. And really, that just rubbed me the wrong way.

SO....

Does that mean I am here to tell you that I have made the decision to eschew all diamonds, and that I will smugly roll my eyes at any and all marketing campaigns that tell me that I need a man to give me a rock to feel safe and calm during the thunderstorms of life -- or make claims like the title of this post.

Weeeeeeell...not exactly.

What I can tell you though, is that Garrett and I will not be purchasing a diamond when we decide to get hitched. But this year my mom offered to give me a family diamond that was actually in a ring that my grandma gave my dad -- and boy did that complicate my moral stance and tug on the heart strings. Because, really? A family diamond? Not to mention it is BEE-YOU-TEE-FULL! (The tasteful sparkle of course...haha). And once again might I remind you, I am not made of wood people. But I am pretty sure, thanks to coming across that gem of a post by Anil Dash this year, that I've decided that this next diamond, will be my last diamond.