Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post - A conscious approach to an engagement ring

dominick · 10-17-2008, 11:01 PM

Hey all. Likely will be proposing to my girlfriend in the next 30-60 days. Excited to do this but also want to approach all aspects of my life consciously. When it comes to buying an engagement I have a couple of issues with business "as usual".

First, I have a big issue with the diamond trade in that it seems to support political instability, exploits slave labor, etc. I know you can purchase "conflict-free" diamonds these days which is a great step but I want to be very sensitive to this because this is something that my fiancee/wife is going to wear every day for the rest of her life and I want the energy and symbolism to be positive.

Second, I also find it odd that in our society, women are judged so much based on the size and quality of the ring. The fact that any woman would ever feel inferior or superior to my significant other because of the rock on her finger seems so bizarre. Yet it's reality. I can't change that and yet I also don't want to help promote something I feel doesn't serve us as a human race. Not sure what the answer is but wanted to throw that out...

Would love to hear thoughts from any of you who've faced the same dilemma that I have.

10-17-2008, 11:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
dominick Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 69	A conscious approach to an engagement ring Hey all. Likely will be proposing to my girlfriend in the next 30-60 days. Excited to do this but also want to approach all aspects of my life consciously. When it comes to buying an engagement I have a couple of issues with business "as usual". First, I have a big issue with the diamond trade in that it seems to support political instability, exploits slave labor, etc. I know you can purchase "conflict-free" diamonds these days which is a great step but I want to be very sensitive to this because this is something that my fiancee/wife is going to wear every day for the rest of her life and I want the energy and symbolism to be positive. Second, I also find it odd that in our society, women are judged so much based on the size and quality of the ring. The fact that any woman would ever feel inferior or superior to my significant other because of the rock on her finger seems so bizarre. Yet it's reality. I can't change that and yet I also don't want to help promote something I feel doesn't serve us as a human race. Not sure what the answer is but wanted to throw that out... Would love to hear thoughts from any of you who've faced the same dilemma that I have.