The other day, I cleaned my rings in a cup full of Windex. They’d grown grimy and gross, but after soaking in that magic liquid and getting a good toothbrush scrub, they looked good as new – which led me to ask:

Wouldn’t it be awesome to have a human-sized vat of magic liquid for everyone who’s lost their sparkle!?

Okay, okay – maybe a chemical bath isn’t all that appealing. But what would we all have to do to achieve similar results? We’ve all lost our sparkle at one time or another – and experimented with ways to get it back, to varying degrees of success.

So, I did a little research – and realized the makers of Windex know something about sparkling that most of us forget. My rings didn’t get gunky overnight; they were covered in many months of accumulated debris and crud. I only noticed it when so much microscopic crap built up that my diamond looked cloudy – no shine in sight.

So, I grabbed the Windex – a chemical cocktail that breaks down grime and dirt. But get this! There are chemicals in Windex that also keep the dirt, once it’s been broken up, from settling back onto the surface. So, all that gunk not only separated from my rings – but it wasn’t allowed to return.

Whoomp, there it is! Our magic solution!

We can’t expect to sparkle if crud from our past accumulates slowly but surely and then, after we attempt to brush it off, is allowed to settle right back in again. When we start to recognize those old habits, those old hurts, those old patterns casting a shadow on our ability to shine, we have two chores:

1) do what it takes to release the old shit

2) shield ourselves from letting it creep back and settle in

We each have to create our own Windex For the Soul – a ~~chemical~~ courage cocktail of mindfulness, faith and confidence to keep our pasts from dictating our futures. Soak yourself in it and scrub the scum away until you’re downright dazzling. Repeat as necessary. Ready? Set? Sparkle, baby!