In order for something to be truly remade or reborn, it sometimes has to be stripped down to its core, exposing its true, basic components. Take for example, an old classic Ford Mustang that an owner wants to restore. He dreams of bringing it back to its original beauty and glory. The first thing that owner does before starting the restoration process and spraying a single drop of paint on that aged and damaged body is to sand it down to the metal. This removes all of the old paint and imperfections that have built up on the body over time. He doesn’t want the old coats of paint, dents and dings to interfere with the new coat of paint. Once the body is sanded and smoothed, a primer coat is applied and then it is finally painted. The reason that the owner goes through the tedious process of sanding and stripping the car body down to its core is to ensure that when painted, its true beauty shines through.
He knows without a doubt the true beauty of that car and the way it will look when fully restored. The reason he knows this is because he has seen that car at its best. Either through pictures, on TV, or in person, he has been able to see what that car looked like at its best −the day it rolled off of the assembly line. Even though a car can be restored, it is never as good as the day it was new. Even with the best tools and restoration skills in the world, a car is only new once. Sure, every component of a car can be replaced with a new one, but at what point does that car go from being restored to being replaced?
Our life as human beings is much more exciting than the life of a car. We grow and adapt with age, always looking forward to being better than we were yesterday. That classic restored Mustang has already seen its best day. The only thing it has to look forward to for the rest of its life is to hopefully get restored as close as possible to its original condition by its owner. Fortunately for a car, it is unaware of its limited life.
As human beings, we don’t roll off of an assembly line, polished and in tip-top shape. No one knows what he or she will look like or how they should perform at their best. We are born to learn, grow, and become wiser and stronger with life and age. Unlike a car, when we are created, we don’t come with manuals, photographs, or specs that show how we should look and perform at optimum capacity. We have to live and experience life in order for that to be revealed. As of today, no one has been able to conclusively predict what we are capable of becoming as humans. GOD likes to keep this inside information all to himself it seems.
Getting covered in rust over time has never been a problem for humans, but our spirit and potential to shine can get tarnished just the same. Setbacks, negative experiences, and life itself can start to affect our attitudes and our ability to live to our fullest potential. Whether or not you allow these “setbacks” to define you is key. Just like rust, if we allow negativity to remain, it will eat away at our core and eventually consume us. This ultimately ends up effecting the way we are seen by others and the way we see ourselves. As human beings, we have to constantly do our own unique type of “sanding and painting” in order to put on and keep our best shine.
Like the guy that takes the time to fix up that classic car because he knows it’s worth it, we have to know that it’s worth it to do whatever it takes to maintain our shine, our true beauty, and our potential. The good news is, unlike a car that is at its best when it is “born” on the assembly line, the scrapes, bumps, and bruises we encounter as human beings along the road of life are actually a necessary part of our journey in order for us to become our best. Most successful people will tell you that those scrapes, bumps, and bruises were critical in developing the strength and attitude to become successful. It is pretty fair to say that we have to get knocked down a few times in order to realize our true beauty and capabilities.
- Jermaine E. Martin, Author, American Mindset: Unstuck & Unstoppable