FEAR
Our Deepest Fear
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 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
(c) Marianne Williiamson, 1992
1 comment:
I have been thinking about the fears and difficulties of walking out our amazing faith ever since reading this on the blog. I admit I was finding it hard to get my head around being scared of "the power" of faith on our journeys, until I was out ice-skating and the metaphors of my faith journey, with it's evolving challenges, just started opening up to me out on that slippery ice rink...
By way of background, ice-skating is not really a forte of mine and I had not skated in about 8 years before I was out that night. So, on approach, I was quite cautious and was concentrating hard.
Of course, the harder one concentrates on putting one foot in front of the other whilst skating, the more wobbly one gets, because you move too slowly and deliberately. I soon found myself gliding much easier when I focused a little bit in front and kept my eyes fixed on the end of each section of the rink with each corner I turned. Naturally, I couldn't have a panoramic view of all that was going on whilst I was in the middle of skating around but I knew I was progressing along bit by bit.
I couldn't look around too much because when I looked at other people it imbalanced me. And the one time I looked backwards at someone else who had fallen over, was the time I fell hard on the ice myself. Nice lesson learnt again from Mrs Lot - don't look backwards, it doesn't help you get forward. Fortunately, all I got was bruised knees and I lived to tell the sorry tale. Unlike Lot's wife.
There was no point wallowing on the ice when I'd fallen over. If I'd have stayed slumped on my knees on the ice, I'd have been in more danger or I could've caused other people to fall over too. I had to pick myself up and keep going.
The hard slippy ice rink taught me a few lessons that night about my journey and about not being distracted along the way with my progress, or the progress of the clever people who whizz past me, or of taking my mind off my goal and falling over. And if I do fall over, to pick myself up quick and keep going, because sitting there moping is dangerous to me and others about me on their journeys. But my mistakes aren't crippling, they are good to learn from - and a few bruised knees remind me to be wiser next time.
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