“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
This is probably one of my top 5 favorite quotes… maybe even
the one I love most. But the first time
I read it - maybe 30 years ago when I was in my mid-thirties - it totally
boggled my fundamentalist Christian mind.
I had been consistently taught that to even consider that I was
"brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous" was a sin of arrogance and
vanity - and any good Christian would never EVER actually say something like
that OUT LOUD! (The fires of hell were
always lingering just around the corner back then.) I think my eyes darted around a bit in search
of stray lightning bolts - - - and that was just for reading the quote!
Back in those days, I was “blessed” with a great deal of trauma
and drama. I say “blessed” because
although it was a horrific time for me, it forced me to reevaluate pretty much
every nook and cranny of my life. PTSD
and other challenging experiences, coupled with honest confrontations from some
amazing, loving, and wise friends, forced me to reconsider the spiritual beliefs
of my youth. Eventually, life pried much of the fearful, judgmental, fundamentalist dogma
out of my tightly clenched fingers, and I began to consider the world from an increasingly
different perspective.
35 years of fundamentalist brain-washing has not been easy
to undo. I still have negative knee-jerk
reactions to some things I hear in New Thought and Ancient Wisdom teachings. A Course in Miracles has too many Biblical
“buzz words” from my past, and the idea that I totally create my own reality
makes me shudder. I don’t always feel
brilliant or talented or fabulous, and (to be totally honest) I still occasionally
glance around for lightning. But my mind
is about 500% more open than it was when I first read Marianne’s brilliant
words so long ago. I know, on the most
basic level, that I was born to make manifest the glory of my Creator that is within me. I am indeed brilliant and talented and maybe
even fabulous! (I still struggle with gorgeous,
but I am working on it.) It is okay for
me to let my light shine, and self-deprecation is essentially blasphemy against
the Source within me! That one was powerful
when it finally sunk in – on the hierarchy of sins, from bad to abhorrent, blasphemy
against the Divine is way worse than arrogance or vanity! I now spend a lot of time working
on my own liberation from the fear that can throw such a wrench into the workings
of life. And I hang out with people who
are diligently seeking truth and peace and love, and who accept me unconditionally
- for exactly who I am!
I’m looking for a strong finish for this blog, but I don’t
think I can say anything more brilliant than this short and sweet quote by our
friend Ms. Williamson:
