Nelson Mandela
From his 1994
Inaugual Speech
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. |