Our deepest fear is not what you think it is!

I have learned a lot through Marianne Williamson’s teachings.  I can’t remember how I first came across her (I may have seen her on an Oprah episode) and am so happy I did!  Below is her most famous quote, one that always rocks my world every time I read it:

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

At different times different pieces of this message give me a reality check.  Sometimes it’s the realization that our deepest fear is not inadequacy but the fact that we are powerful beyond measure.  Or other times, the realization of the self-doubt that often exists within the “Who am I to be…?” question.  Right now, I am doing the work to remember that “There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you”.  We shrink so that we can protect ourselves from the blatant or subtle attacks of insecure people around us.  We share a dream, a goal, an improvement in our way of living, and someone rolls their eyes.  Or says “Of course, YOU would do something like that because you are (a perfectionist, overachiever…whatever the label is)”.  Slowly taking a jab at us so that we don’t climb too high, and by doing so reflect back the decisions they themselves chose not to make.  Anyone who has been around others with insecurities knows how this plays out.  It is in the above teaching that I find the greatest comfort, knowing that if I let my light shine, I will give other people the permission to do the same.  And that is enough to push through the discomfort :)