#10: You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
Well, this is another old proverb which has been around since the mid 1500s. Its original meaning is to juxtapose silk, something considered to be refined and superior, with a sow’s ear; the ear of a pig, which was considered unclean, definitely unrefined and inferior, therefore the silk purse was the most desirable. The proverb claims that it is impossible to turn something ugly and inferior into something of beauty and value. This comparison was not only for articles but extended to people, with an understanding that people were superior or inferior and that position could not be altered.
It may be true that you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, but you can make a lovely, soft, pig skin purse; dye it a lively colour and jazz it up with some snazzy decoration and you have a purse that makes a statement, a purse that is practical and a purse which will most likely outlast the silk job.
As you can see from the images above both the pigskin purse and the silk purse are beautiful. The moral of the story is this: whatever you have to work with, make the most of that. Most of us have limitations on our lives, but generally it is not our limitations that hold us back as much as our inability to find our strengths and build those into something of value. We are not all the same and beauty comes in many and varied forms. Our magic and our blessing is in our differences.
So, go on; make your purse; make it from the materials you have available and make it beautiful!
Way leads onto Way 