It is our light, not our darkness
“Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,gorgeous,
handsome, talented and 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 were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine,
we consciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson from A Return to Love
I wanted to share this, as it is a message that appears again and again in my life. I can't seem to get away from it. It's in the books I read; it appears in my horoscope. Maybe soon enough I'll get the message...
but that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,gorgeous,
handsome, talented and 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 were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine,
we consciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson from A Return to Love
I wanted to share this, as it is a message that appears again and again in my life. I can't seem to get away from it. It's in the books I read; it appears in my horoscope. Maybe soon enough I'll get the message...
posted by Elizabeth at 1:03 PM
2 Comments:
Yeah, I like it, except I don't get one thing--is this quote targeted at the "brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous"?:
"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."
If it is (because others could feel insecure (i.e., exposed or insubstantial) in their presence), then that's assuming that those type of people would make a sacrifice for the not-so-gorgeous, brilliant, etc., which I don't think they would. Shouldn't the quote then be targeted at the latter group, in which case it would say:
"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 [apprehensive or anxious] around you."
I guess it's all about the definition of insecure. I wouldn't naturally think that a brilliant and gorgeous person would be insecure around one that is not.
Nelson Mandela used this in his inaugural speech in 1994, and it is often misattributed to him.
I think it’s about living up to your full potential. Someone who is bright and talented may diminish his or her abilities around others—others who may share those talents and others who might have less capacity in a given area. I think in our culture, women especially have a tendency to downplay their strengths, so as not to intimidate others. But what happens is that both parties lose.
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