Lighting my Candle

"The soul of man is the candle of God" (Proverbs 20:27)

This is a perfect metaphor of the relationship to God. We, humans, work to prepare the candle. We do our best to create a good candle to offer to God, so that he may, at the proper time, lite it. While waiting for this to happen we should  pray/ask for His Intervention and continuously work on ourselves in order to keep improving.

It doesn't matter how good we are: it's not a granted result that God will lite our candle. The right time it's all up to Him!

I summarised the process:

1. Building the Candle (Your Part)

​You cannot light a flame without a physical vessel. "Building the candle" means doing the practical, human work to be and become the best of you.

The Wax: represents your character traits—even the "messy" ones.

​The Wick: represents your will and your daily efforts.

​The Placement: means putting yourself in the right environment to be "lit."

2. The Waiting (or the Relief)

Paradoxically here is where the exhaustion ends. The reality is that a candle cannot light itself. If you are still sitting in the dark, it doesn’t mean the candle is "broken"; it just means the match hasn’t been struck yet. You put all your efforts into it, and continue striving, regardless of the results. Your goal is to become a better person, the struggle you are going through manifests your sincere commitment towards the final outcome. Although not there yet, your deep involved dedication is nourishing your true desire, as if you were filling it with with fuel. You are doing your part. And this action of yours removes the guilt. If you aren't "improved" yet, it isn't necessarily because you haven't worked hard enough, but because the "tank" is not yet full yet.  

3. The divine Intervention

Our continuous efforts is what Chassidus, the Hasidic philosophy, calls "Arousal from Below". When we "arouse" ourselves with prayer and effort, it eventually draws down the "Arousal from Above": the divine match that will lit our Fire!

Lubavitcher Rebbe, a person I see as an enlightened Master, says that even when the candle is unlit, it is still a holy object. Therefore we shouldn't wait for the "success" of the flame in order to feel our life valuable. The "Wax and the Wick" -our daily struggles- are precious to God even before the light comes. God loves the candle-maker just as much as He loves the flame!

4. The Wisdom of the "Unlit Candle"

​There is a deep relief when you become aware that the struggle is the service!

In our modern world, we are obsessed with "results"—we expect to see the flame as an answer to our well done job. But in the spiritual "jungle," the most sacred work is often done in the dark, while you are still just "building the candle".

This "unlit" state is where Humility is performed. If the candle were always lit, we would think we were the sun. By having to wait, and by having to ask for that "Divine Intervention" we learn the most important lesson of all: Relationship. God doesn't just want you to be "improved" (a finished product); He wants to be in a constant dialogue with you about the process of improving!