Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is light not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves “Who am I to be brilliant?”
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn’t save the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so,
That other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are born to 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 fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Nelson Mandela, 1994