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 is not just in some of us; it is 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.
A Return to Love - Marianne Williamson
*Special thanks to Father Gee for reading this passage during his sermon yesterday. It spoke to me.
This is great. I love the line, ” there is nothing enlightened about shrinking” Love it!
That IS a great line. There are so many in this passage. The one that struck me when Fr. Gee read this on Sunday was “We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.” As in, we are made — it’s our duty — to be the best version we can be of the person we are.
I also love:
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Wow.
I love this poem! I’ve never actually read the whole thing. I’m glad you posted it.
Happy New Year!!!!!