Shine On!

On Monday of this week, I was working my part-time job when I had a sudden realization.

No, I don’t have an official part-time job. I often joke at our Tuesday morning staff meetings that I worked my part-time job on Monday and over the weekend. I am referring to helping my spouse, J, with his mid-century furniture business.

In addition to occasionally staffing the store when he needs to be away, my “job” usually consists of moving, as well as frequently cleaning and refreshing furniture. That is what I was doing on Monday when it occurred to me that in addition to cleaning the metal frames of the Barcelona chairs we have for sale; I was being reminded of a very important life lesson.

I am not sure if someone intentionally coated part of one of the frames with something akin to shellac to protect it from scratching or if something was accidentally spilled on it and was not cleaned off. My guess is the latter. Whichever the case, it was not a good idea, and it was not easy to remove.

My first reaction upon seeing what had happened was disbelief and judgmental frustration. Firstly, I thought that surely no one in their right mind would do this on purpose. Secondly, I could hardly believe that if it was an accident that no one had taken time and effort to clean it off. After all, how could they not realize the beauty and value of these iconic chairs!

After getting over my initial dismay, I began working on removing whatever it was. My assumption was that it has been there for years. At first, I wondered if it would come off. I questioned if this was going to be an exercise in futility. I persisted, however. I soon discovered that the right solvent would help to dissolve the solution. It did not come off all at once. Thankfully, with patience and some elbow grease, layer-by-layer it gradually disintegrated, and the original beauty and shine of the chrome was revealed. 

It occurred to me that something similar happens to us humans. The original luster and shine of our True nature – our Christ Self – gets covered over by the false beliefs of our families, cultures and religions. By the hurt and pain we endure. By fear. By the lies we take on and believe about ourselves.

All these things can become solidified in our consciousness as what Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore termed the “adverse ego.” Instead of knowing who and what we are as the Light of God, we take on these limiting ideas of self that stymie the full expression of who we are and all that we have come here to be.

Our opportunity is to recognize it for what it is, do what we can to dissolve it, and to reveal the unique beauty of our Divinity.

Awareness is key. As author and teacher, Louise Hay, said, “If you want to clean your house, you have to be willing to see the dirt.” In addition, we must be willing not to judge the dirt or place blame on someone else for creating the dirt.

In order to clean the chair, I had to first see the substance. While I did judge the one or ones who were responsible for it, my judgement was not helpful to the process. It only caused me to enjoy it even less.

Further, we need the right solvent. It is Love. Love is the only power that can lift off the effects of the adverse ego. Loving ourselves right where we are in every moment is essential. Even when knowing that there are aspects of our lives that are not yet in alignment with who we have come here to be, Love is the only way to begin to remove the effects of the adverse ego-dominated mind.

As it was in my effort to clean the chair, patience is also key. The effects of years of conditioning will not, in most cases, go away in one fell swoop. Most often, it requires a steady, consistent spiritual practice of prayer, which includes meditation, denials and affirmations, and conscious alignment with Truth. I am confident that daily practice does work to lift off, layer-by-layer, the burden of the thoughts, beliefs and behaviors of adverse ego. Trust the process. As they say in AA, “It works, if you work it.”

Cleaning the chairs on Monday was a present reminder that life can, and often does, reveal to us in the most unlikely of places the lesson that we need to remember in the moment. Each of us is a unique, beautiful, invaluable work of art created by the Master Artist to shine brilliantly. Even though our natural sheen may get covered over by some inadvertent or intentional act of another or others, we have the power to free ourselves and let our Christ Light shine.

Remember, it’s a process. Awareness is key. Love is the only power. Patience is essential. Progress, not perfection. Practice daily. You are meant to shine. Shine On!