Our deepest fear
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Marianne Williamson (from A Return To Love)
You are absolutely right and this does actually happen.
Even I have experienced that we fear when we have power and not when we are powerless.
Interesting words.
Maybe because with power comes responsibility, for our own lives, for our sucess and for our failures. I do believe we are powerful beyond measure.I am just trying to find out how to use that power right.
Have a beautiful holiday Dev!
I absolutely love this writing; Nelson Mandela also said these words at his 1994 inauguration speech in South Africa. Powerful, and meaningful. Have a blessed holiday, Helen. Vanessa
Thank you Vanessa, the holiday really is a blessing! The belief that the quote above is a part of Nelson Mandela’s inaguration speech is a myth though (I used to think so too) but here is what I found in my research (either way, it is a beautiful writing):
“It is widely misattributed on the Web and elsewhere to Nelson Mandela’s 1994 inaugural address. A quick search through that very speech (also full of splendid quotable prose) on the ANC’s official web site confirms that the quotation isn’t there (URL below). Nor is it to be found in any of his other published speeches.
The actual author of the quotation is Marianne Williamson. To be precise, it is from her 1992 book, “Return to Love” (hardcover p. 165, paperback pp. 190-191): http://www.marianne.com/index.php
Just to be extra sure that Mandela never quoted it in another speech, I wrote to the ANC (info[at]anc.org.za) asking about it, and their representative Duncan Harford confirmed my suspicions:
We are aware that these words have for some years now been attributed to Nelson Mandela on the internet. We do not know how this happened
These words appear neither in the May 9, 1994 inaugural speech (http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/mandela/1994/inaugct.html), nor the May 10, 1994 inaugural speech(http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/mandela/1994/inaugpta.html), nor any of the other speeches, statements and writings by Mr. Mandela (http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/mandela/)”
I love these words and they have inspired me many times and helped me overcome negative feelings.
I’d like to share with you an anonymous quotation, which I like and find meaningful too:
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
Wonderful. I am taking the risk to blossom 😉
Lots of beautiful crystal snowflakes from Sweden!
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Like a precious jewel, your light shines from sea to sea.
Across several oceans, too, I might add.
michael j
USA