💎 Multifaceted 💎

adjective

1. 1.

   having many sides.

   "the diamond's multifaceted surface"
2. 2.

   having many different aspects or features.

   "his extraordinary and multifaceted career"

Does anyone else remember their cringey email address from primary/secondary school? :') 

My username for pretty much everything at the time was 'SparklyJemz' because I was highkey obsessed with everything pink, girly and especially sparkly. As funny as it was, I love how this gave my nickname (Jem) a whole other double meaning. Alongside the sparkly aspect, I find that gemstones are just generally fascinating. Diamonds are amongst the most recognisable and valued gemstones - but the true beauty and brilliance of a diamond only becomes apparent once it has been cut and polished, producing facets that reflect light. 

In the same way that diamonds have unique facets, we all have different interests and abilities that are specific to us. Anything we find remotely interesting or entertaining will somehow appeal to these attributes. Our favourite activities, hobbies and relaxation methods usually engage and utilise our 'facets' in ways we find fulfilling. This explains the sense of enjoyment and satisfaction that we get from contributing good to the world by doing something we love. Yet somehow, despite the fulfilment this provides, conflicting feelings can also arise when our 'facets' don't seem to align or fit neatly together...

💎 Connectivity vs Competing Interests 💎

As a kid, I had a huge variety of interests, ranging from arts to academia. In my early years, I remember how vibrant and dynamic everyday life often felt. I loved storytelling in all it's forms, ranging from creative writing and reading to acting and watching movies. Looking back, I see how the core enjoyable elements of my life fed into the formation of more specific interests. I developed preferred methods of communicating my thoughts and began expressing myself in ways I felt to be meaningful. I also grew in exploring how things worked and experienced a deepening curiosity for complex concepts in life. In similar ways, many of us start off with generally unrefined ways of processing and interacting with our world, which eventually inform our interests, values and belief systems later on in life. On reflection, the simplicity and ease of enjoying multiple interests in my younger years was facilitated through balance of work and play. School studies and lessons would be accompanied with extra-curricular hobbies and weekend activities. I'm so grateful that my family intentionally created space for both and prioritised variety in my life. My engagement in many of these activities was fairly surface level at the time, with exploratory breadth favoured over depth.  

My interests continued to refine as I got older, often expressed through creative endeavours, such as dance, photography and music, as well as academic interests in science, education and humanitarian sectors. This lead to a dilemma in my teenage years. For the first time, my formerly interconnected interests started to diverge into activities that became increasingly difficult to combine. As they became more separate parts of my life, each required more intentional effort to juggle and maintain alongside the other. I began needing to say no to certain things so as to avoid burnout and overwhelming myself with too much. This reality was further reinforced during my time at uni, where I learned a lot about upholding my values and identity, alongside prioritising my varied interests in life. Graduation and the subsequent transition into work as a Resident Doctor has further reinforced this phenomenon.

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I've always loved crossover episodes and the concept of multiverses - where complex, interconnected stories somehow exist in harmonious equilibrium. Maybe the easiest way to do everything we love would involve re-connecting our facets together, through activities where they can all overlap? I am a huge advocate for holistic living, which incorporates our various interests and passions into everyday life as much as possible... However, as much as we can try to maintain a balancing act, the reality is that life inevitably brings change, meaning our priorities need to be flexible in order to adapt.

In this way, life's changes and subsequently shifting priorities can pose a real conflict of interest. Recently, I found that my creative endeavours have served more as outlets for relaxation and enjoyment, where they previously yielded productivity and innovation. I've often felt guilty at times for 'neglecting' these endeavours, by not dedicating as much time to indulging creatively compared to previous years. On the other hand, I have found myself intentionally prioritising friendships and community, which form an essential part of my support system. The concept of work-life balance also feeds into this, with many of us seeing our work and wider lifestyle as competing interests, battling for the top spot in our attention and time. I find dichotomising these concepts to be unhelpful, as things are rarely ever black and white. 

As a child, I had no idea that I could ever feel torn between my interests. Part of the narrative we are fed growing up is that we can do anything and be anything we want if we just put our minds to it!!!!!! 

The idea that we can have it all.

I believe that to some extent we can - but (whatever) 'it' (is) will never consist of having all of our interests upheld in an equal way... and maybe it doesn't have to...

💎 The Sparkling Effect 💎

The beautiful sparkling effect of diamonds occurs as light reflects off of their multi-faceted surfaces. The sparkles happen as the position of the light changes and each facet is illuminated in turn. This makes a lot of sense when we think about our own lives in their numerous seasons and stages. At some point, one facet may require a lot of your devotion and attention in order to keep it alive - especially when it is new, developing or vulnerable. Over time, things hopefully settle and that facet begins to thrive without needing as much input...but things can switch almost instantaneously, meaning a different facet now requires more attention than the previous. However, this does not make the previous facet any less part of your life. It just means the light (and hence the focus) is not on that particular aspect of your life now, compared to before.

As young adults, it can feel like so many things are demanding our time and energy equally as intensely. We are constantly making efforts to develop our careers and cultivate the relationships in our lives, all whilst still trying to figure out our own identities, develop our character and decipher what truly brings meaning to our lives. So when some parts of our lives aren't 'shining' as brightly as other parts, it's easy to feel like we're not living up to our full potential overall, or that we are inherently missing a fundamental part of ourselves. It's also easy to feel underdeveloped or underappreciated during times when our interests/talents/desires don't have a clear outlet or when we're not yet sure how best to pursue them. This is even more the case when we have 'facets' that are seemingly unrelated to each other and appear difficult to combine at first glance. When this happens, it can be tempting to neglect the very parts of ourselves that were created to shine.

In these moments, it's important to remember that our 'facets' are in fact gifts from God, with each one intentionally designed to display His glory in a unique way. A particular stage in our lives will be beautiful for a completely different reason to the next - but He is glorified uniquely and completely in each one. Every transition to a new stage and season showcases His glorious power to overcome the challenges posed by our complexities and imperfections. I find freedom in knowing it's not my job to control the timing for each facet to be showcased. Instead, I choose to surrender every area of my life to Jesus, trusting that He will bring about the right focus in His timing.

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Whilst I've made it abundantly clear that I enjoy sparkly things, here's where my diamond analogy comes unstuck. Diamonds are often fashioned to maximise their visibility, which makes them stand out on display and capture our attention. Humans, on the other hand, are not always meant to "seen" by everyone. Some people have huge platforms and followings, with spheres of influence that span the globe. Others are tasked with being a light to their friends, families and communities. Whilst I'm passionate about letting our lights shine before others to glorify God, I also believe there may be times where He hides us for our own protection. This can be particularly difficult in moments where we would prefer to be seen. This is where it's important to each run own race and not over-value certain types of facets, because they only make up one part of our complex, multifaceted lives. Our individual interests, gifts and talents do reflect His glory, but it's important that we do not find our core identity ultimately in these things alone. Overall I think it's less important what 'facets' we have, but instead how we decide to use them for His glory. 

Jesus is the prime example of being miraculously multifaceted as the Lion and the Lamb, the Son of God and the Son of Man. I believe each of us are uniquely designed to express God's glory in a beautiful way, with Christ giving us the strength to do so. In my experience, this gives meaning and purpose to every aspect of our lives.

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"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well"

Matthew 6:33

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:13-16

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Colossians 3:17

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

1 Corinthians 10:31

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

1 Peter 4:10-11

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