“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.”
Our Deepest Fear
by Marianne Williamson from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles
When I first read this as a freshman in collage, I was told it was from Nelson Mandela, but I guess I, like many others, was wrong :) Either way, I LOVE it and need to live it!
5 comments:
Very inspiring. Very powerful. Thanks, I needed that.
I used this quote as the basis of my mission "final paper" which was all about light vs. dark. I actually just found out a few days ago that it's not actually a Nelson Mandela quote. I wanted to send it to my niece, and Marianne Williamson's name popped up on the first hit when I googled it- who knew?
David and I decided we're going to keep perpetuating the myth because it sounds so much better to say it was written by a man who spent 40 years in prison and then was elected the first President of a newly democratic country, than just by some nice woman trying to be inspirational ;)
Very thought provoking! Thanks for sharing!
My Yoga intructor reads this quote quite often for us while we are breathing and focusing our energy. I love it. By the way, she quotes it as being from Nelson Mandella. so who knows where it truly originated from.
Wow, thanks for putting that up -- loved it and needed it.
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