While I was recently engrossed in some meditation, the lamp picked up a tiny sparkle in my diamond ring. "As I watched it, the spectrum of light changed from white to blue to green, even red and yellow. How could one tiny ray be all those colors of the rainbow?

Diamonds....a piece of ore found in the ground, formed by the workings of the earth's pressures upon the terrain. We, too are diamonds in the rough, formed by the pressures of living in an imperfect world. Friends and neighbors, co-workers, clerks in the business world, all rub shoulders with each of us. Each encounter could be an embracing one, but too often they are characterized by uncontrolled tempers, even downright meanness. Does our light shine during those moments? Or do we enter a mud-slinging foray with an unbridled reaction of some sort?

It's one thing to be dragged down fighting, but quite another to be rubbed the wrong way and come out shining. For often we let ourselves be lowered to someone else's standard which will not likely produce the gem that God desires us to be. We are all gems that virtually look plain as a rock until we're polished enough to reveal those hidden virtuous qualities that will promote peace.

Do you see, that like a diamond you have many facets of light in the prism of your soul? You can polish them by prayer and tending to others needs. The better you feel about yourself, the more fortitude you'll find to handle rude personalities, to let your light illuminate your day to day work. Ultimately, one's job extracts the gems of their own personality from the salt mines of living.

The edge of a diamond has been known to cut a trail on glass. The more beautiful one's soul becomes (the more precious) it can be as that diamond; tough and able to cut a path with shining goodness. Others may not know they are handling a 'gem' but they will somehow be affected by their encounter with that person. That's one of the facets of God's love. It passes through another's behavior. Standing in line for a service window, your patience can be a virtue of humility instead of the anxiety of aggravation.

A diamond ring becomes dulled by the film of soapy water while doing household chores. Periodically it must be cleaned with a stronger solution. The same is true of one's soul. It must often be cleansed by confessing some sin to another person, so that it may once again have the chance to sparkle with God's grace. Then being transformed into a warm, loving compassionate ray of sunshine instead of the sometimes cold, unfeeling 'rock' of indifference is really the pot at the end of the rainbow.