Nelson Mandela, quoted in Ann Belford Ulanov. The Unshuttered Heart: Opening Aliveness/Deadness in the Self. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007, pp. 75-76.
Our worst 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 . . . You are a child of God; your playing small doesn’t serve the world . . . We are born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just some of us, it is everyone and as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do so.
2 comments:
I have just returned from a ten day centering prayer retreat. As I spent several hours a day in contemplative prayer, I came a little closer to being able to experience the presence of God in all things, including my own thoughts and feelings. I developed a greater sense of what Mandela is speaking of here, the glory of God within myself, and I return to my daily life with a renewed desire to allow God’s light to shine in the world through my own light.
Oh, let my light shine, God!
And it is wonderful to see your light shine here again, Lindsay. How great for you to have had the 10 days of centering. thank you for sharing, for shining.
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