To make a stone shine, it needs to go through an arduous process. It’s pressed, rubbed, and worn down through repeated contact, often against rough surfaces. What looks like abrasion is actually formation. The stone doesn’t become smooth despite the friction, but because of it. The shine emerges only after enduring the process that initially feels rough and harsh.

Like that stone, growth often begins with resistance. Pressure, repetition, and discomfort are not signs of brokenness but of refinement. The challenges we face are not meant to stop us; they're meant to shape us. What feels like constant friction is creating clarity, strength, and depth beneath the surface. Our truest beauty and shine come not from the absence of struggle, but from moving through the struggle.

Transformation rarely happens in a single moment. Like the polishing of the stone, it unfolds through consistency: the same motions, the same effort, applied again and again. Progress can feel slow because refinement is subtle. You don’t necessarily notice the shine forming while you’re still in the middle of the grind, yet each pass and each stroke matters. Nothing is wasted, even when it feels repetitive or uncomfortable.

It’s easy to mistake friction for failure. But resistance is often confirmation that something meaningful is taking form. Hashem invests the time and effort to shape us, because He sees our potential even when we can’t see it ourselves. The pressure you feel is not a sign you’re breaking – it’s a sign you’re being strengthened.

Trust the process even when the results aren’t visible yet. What’s being formed takes time, patience, and persistence. One day, you’ll look back and realize that what once felt abrasive was actually purposeful – revealing a version of you that could only exist because you endured the process of being shaped and shined.

Inspired by the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994)