It can seem strange to remember that a diamond and a lump of coal share the same essential chemical composition. They’re both pure carbon. A diamond is simply a lump of coal, plus time and force. Once time and force have been applied, no one would be likely to mistake a diamond for a lump of coal, even though the chemical composition hasn’t changed.
You have the choice to regard yourself as either one or the other, a diamond, or a lump of coal. The shame of it is, that most of us, in complete innocence, see ourselves as the lump of coal. We may believe we have the raw material for a diamond but are convinced that without many years of effort and a shot of luck, we can’t possibly become the diamond.
We can’t become what we already are. Trying to become a diamond would be as pointless as trying to become a human. Each of us is already the diamond.
When our focus is so intently tuned to becoming, we fail to appreciate what’s already there: being. The belief that we have to become something we already are is founded in our belief that there’s such a thing as spiritual development, which is a great falsehood.
Spirit is already whole, complete, and shining. We don’t need to become what we already are, we only have to recognize what’s already there, but the act of recognition tends to be tricky.
Strangely, the ego is nothing more than a container, making the infinite consciousness that is our source appear to be finite. The ego is built on a sense of limitation, hiding from us the plain truth that infinite consciousness is our source. In other words, the ego can only hold a limited amount of infinite consciousness, so we experience a sense of limitation.
Having created the illusion of limitation, the ego sees its job as a never-ending battle to become more than it thinks it is.
No wonder it’s such a pesky, noisy, insistent thing! Our egos make us feel like we’re not enough, and they scream and yell to get our attention. All that screaming and yelling distracts us from seeing we’re already complete and directs us to focus on becoming, instead of letting us rest as being. That’s a reasonably good explanation for a great deal of the unhappiness in the world.
Here’s my New Year’s wish for you: just let yourself admit the possibility that what will give you the peace and well-being you may be seeking is not more seeking.
Peace and well-being are your nature, no matter who you are.
It’s not a question of becoming something more than you are; it’s only a matter of being willing to recognize what’s already there.
If you know you have a choice, why would you choose to think of yourself as the lump of coal, instead of the diamond that you are?
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