I learned something new today—something that solidified, almost with a gentle click, everything I’ve been cementing inside myself lately. I learned not just a fact or piece of trivia, but a quiet revelation that clarified what I already knew at a soul level: the rarest things in life are not always the most monetarily expensive, and the most valuable are rarely the ones we’ve been told to chase.
It started with a YouTube short of all things—a woman explaining with a kind of wide-eyed wonder how scientists discovered that the Earth is 4.4 billion years old. The key? Zircon crystals.
Zircon crystals are tiny, unassuming things. They are formed during volcanic eruptions and found on the earth’s surface. When they form, they can trap atoms of uranium, but not lead. So, when lead is found inside them, it isn’t part of their original makeup—it’s the result of uranium breaking down over time. The rate of that transformation is what scientists use to date the zircon. And in turn, it’s how we know the age of the Earth.
It gets even better: gold—literal gold—can’t even be created on Earth. It’s born in the violent death of stars, the kind of cataclysmic beauty we can’t even fathom, and hitches a ride here on comets and asteroids. So yes—when you give someone a ring made of gold and zircon, you are literally handing them an ember of stardust wrapped around the memory of the Earth’s beginning. In what reality is that not better than an expensive but far less magical “diamond” ring?
These facts, and that question, hit me like a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. Here we are, in a world so obsessed with diamonds—carbon under pressure, mass-produced perfectionism, expensive expectations. Yet zircon, which is far less costly and far more ancient, holds within it a quiet but even more magical origin.
It’s not the flashy stone in the jewelry store spotlight, though the two look nearly identical. It’s not the one that’s marketed with a price tag designed to reflect someone’s “worth.” To those who understand it—really understand—it holds something far rarer than shine. It holds wisdom. History. Truth. Magic, multiplied. That’s the real treasure.
We live in a world where everything is postured and posed. Where what’s loud or expensive gets labeled “valuable,” and what’s gentle and the least pricey often goes unnoticed—or, worse yet, looked down upon. But real magic has always worn simpler clothes. It doesn’t clamor for applause. It waits in silence until you’re still enough to notice it glowing softly in the corner.
Like a zircon crystal, it doesn’t need to prove itself—it just is. It’s rare because it carries its story in quiet atoms. It’s precious because it tells the truth, not because someone said it should be.
I think the same is true of people. Of moments. Of the things we too often overlook:
The small kindness you offer when no one’s looking. The worn path you still walk with someone you love. The healing you choose, again and again, even when no one applauds your effort.
That’s what matters.
That’s the real gold.
So here’s to the zircons of this life—the things that carry cosmic magic in their simplicity. Here’s to the people who still recognize what’s sacred, even when it’s not branded as beautiful. And here’s to the moments that cost nothing, but carry the whole damn universe inside them.
You don’t have to chase monetary value to know your worth. Sometimes, you just have to remember: you’re made of stardust too.
Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
The heart of the Twin Tree Project will always remain the same: that these offerings—thoughts alchemized into words—might find their way, in perfect timing, to those who need them most. Thank you for your continued interest and support of this blog. Your presence here is felt—and received—with deep gratitude.
With blessings and love,
Namaste.
The Twin Tree Project 