When the Shine Fades: Who Are You Then?

When the Shine Fades: Who Are You Then?

By Kateb Nuri-Alim Shunnar

You ever had life feel like a red carpet rolled out just for you?

Job? Check.

Love? Solid.

Money? Flowin’.

Fragrance? Expensive.

Status? Shining like fresh wax on a Cadillac.

You got opportunities so rich they taste like honey on your tongue.

You strut, smile, succeed thinking, “I’m good. I’m set. This is it.”

And then… just like that a diagnosis, a phone call, a betrayal, a shutdown.

Everything flips.

Everything strips.

You’re left naked in spirit, wondering if you ever truly knew yourself beneath the layers of labels.

Now let me ask you this: how strong is your connection to the Creator when all that you’ve depended on disappears?

See, in a twinkle of an eye, all that seems secure can vanish. And when it does, we come face to face with the one thing we often ignore: who are we without all the things?

Not your designer.

Not your bank account.

Not your degree.

Not your network.

Not your glow-up.

Just you. Raw. Silent. Seen. Spirit meeting Source.

This reflection takes me back to the story of Olu, a man from an old village where the sun kissed the earth daily. Olu was known far and wide for his wealth gold-threaded robes, sandals from distant lands, his home carved by masters. But when a mysterious fire swept through the village one night, Olu lost it all.

His hands, once soft from being served, didn’t know labor. His spirit, so dependent on possessions, felt hollow. And his heart? Disconnected.

He sat in his ashes as children rebuilt homes with their elders. When a young boy approached and asked gently, “Olu… who are you now?” Olu’s lips trembled, because for the first time, he had no answer.

That, my friend, is the test we all must one day take.

And speaking of the great and the fallen have you ever heard of Alexander the Great’s final wishes? Let me lay down the principles he left behind as he lay dying, despite having conquered most of the known world:

• His physicians should carry his coffin   to show the world that no doctor can save you from death when your time comes.

• He wanted the path to his grave strewn with gold, silver, and precious stones  to show that material wealth acquired on earth stays behind.

• He asked for his hands to dangle outside the coffin   to show that we leave this world with nothing in our hands, no matter what we had in life.

Now ain’t that something?

A man who had everything realized at the end, what matters most isn’t what you have but who you’ve become.

These are not just ancient principles. These are soul truths.

We chase so much respect, money, love, titles thinking they make us whole. But when life strips it all away, we’re forced to see the mirror of our naked spirit. And if that spirit ain't rooted in the Creator… it’ll shiver in the winds of hardship.

Let me be real with you:

If your soul ain’t fed when your stomach is full, it’ll starve when your table’s empty.

If your peace is fake when your pockets jingle, it’ll crumble when your balance hits zero.

If your praise is loud only in your comfort, it’ll fall silent in your struggle.

But those connected to the Creator? Whew. They may lose the world, but they never lose themselves. Because their treasure ain’t in the vault it’s in the vine. The Divine vine that nourishes them through drought and storm.

So the next time you floss your blessings, smile with your whole face. Be grateful. Rejoice.

But never confuse your gifts with your identity. Never confuse the glow with the Source of the light.

You are not your clothes.

You are not your crib.

You are not your check.

You are not your charm.

You are a soul. Eternal. Sacred. Seen.

So if you woke up today with less than yesterday, don’t mourn the loss seek the lesson. And let it bring you closer to the One who gives and takes away.

Because in the end, when the lights go out, the applause fades, and the world forgets your name your soul will rise either empty with regret or full of light, depending on what it was tethered to all along.

So I ask again:

How strong is your connection to the Creator?

And are you ready to be somebody, even when all the somethings are gone?

Because when you’re rooted in the Source, the storm can rage, the world can collapse, and the system can fail but your soul will still stand.