Inspiration

I have always been inspired by these words and I would like to thank my friends Linda and Mick for reminding me of them. If you haven’t already seen this quote I hope it helps you as much as it does me.

"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, and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We are 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."

This quote is, even now, wrongly attributed to Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech. It, in fact, appeared in the book ‘A Return to Love’ by best selling author Marianne Williamson.

This may not be news to you. But it isn’t this enduring urban and Internet myth that concerns me.

What does concern me is that we care so much that this quote is not by a person quite as socially predominant and influential as Nelson Mandela.

It is a shame that we live in a society that needs such things to be qualified by others. Do we really need celebrities and modern leaders to add weight to things we already know are important?

After all, isn’t this exactly what Marianne Williamson is talking about?

Who cares if Nelson Mandela did not utter these words, it takes nothing away from their power.