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
That’s one of my all-time favorite passages. Thank you for spreading it to others–and also for helping to remind me to shine, too.
I have that one up on the wall too, but I thought it was attributed to Nelson Mandela? Maybe he borrowed it!
Another one for you:
True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice. Martin Luther King Jnr.
I watched “Akeelah and the Bee” with my seventh graders last week and of course that quote was featured both prominently and poignantly.
i always thought that was a nelson mandela quote. it’s on my fridge.
My dad has had that quote up in his office for ages now, one of his favourites.