Quote

(Sorry there are no spaces between paragraphs...Blogger is being bad)

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.We ask ourselves,

Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and 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 were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.

It is not just in some; it is in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine,

we consciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
~Nelson Mandela

Over the weekend I watched the movie Akeelah and the Bee. What an amazing and inspiring movie! My mom recommended it to me and I'm so glad she did. It's one of those movies that moves your heart, makes you think about what you are doing and who you are. This quote by Nelson Mandela was quoted twice in the movie. It spoke to me.

In the past I have talked about how so many are afraid to be who they are. They think they have to be more or less of who they are. Why is it that we are afraid to let our light shine? Why are we afraid to live out those gifts God has given us? Why are we afraid to be ourselves?

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Seriously, who else should we be? Our creator took the time to create us. Think about those scrapbook pages and cards we create: we took our time to create each detail. We made it exactly how we wanted it to be made. We didn't create the page or card to be a lamp, a can of root beer, scissors, a camera, etc. Ha! We created it to be exactly what it is. We were created to be who we are, not someone else.

Some are afraid to be beautiful, to show their intelligence, to show their talent. Why? Fear.

Akeelah was afraid to show her brilliance of spelling because she didn't want to stand out or be teased for being smart. She wanted to hide her talent. She was afraid.

I'm guilty of this, too. I still struggle with it. I'm afraid to be myself sometimes. Sometimes I hide because of insecurity. But more and more I'm finding the freedom to be me, who God created me to be.

Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

There is nothing good about shrinking back so we don't make others feel bad. We have to SHINE! We have to BE ourselves.

When I was in 5th grade I was chosen to be one of 5 or 6 mediators for the next school year. I don't remember why this school did this, but basically they wanted mediators on the playground to help students get along. We had to write essays and be voted in to be a mediator. I felt so honored to be one of the few picked. Well, it wasn't even an hour afterwards that those so-called friends turned on me. They were jealous and they treated me unfairly. I remember going inside during recess, going to my desk, and crying. It hurt really bad. And I can look back at that time and I felt myself shrink. I realized it was dangerous to be myself, to be excited about doing something I loved. They were jealous and insecure, so I shrunk myself so they wouldn't feel bad about themselves. No, no, no! I wish I could go back and whisper into my ear and say, "Don't shrink! BE yourself!" And for years and years I was this shrunken person, burying my talents in the sand, hoping no one would notice me. And it's really only been in the last 4 years that I've come out of that shell.

I hope this quote encourages you. Look at it, read each word and think about what it means to you.

And let your light shine!!