Our deepest fear..... ( Archived) (24)

"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.
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.
It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

There is nother version of this, but I prefer this one. I think it's one of the more powerful quotes I've heard in a long time.

(I just watched "Coach Carter" for like the 100th time)

Awesome quote Jim!!!

So, let your light shine before all men!

One of my favorite quotes, Jim. I also have Coach Carter. Great movie.

I understand that quote and agree with it whole heartedly.........great thread goose...

I love this quote too. I sometimes wonder if people find it difficult to let the light shine though. I know I often do.........

I think it's easier to shut down and pull into a shell than it is to shine. I know I've mastered that particular skill.

In certain instances it took me a long time for me to even try to shine. My art being an example. Since I was very little, people have told me I was good at painting and drawing, but my fear of not meeting their expectations kept me from even trying to make it a career.

I worked at every expression around the topic, (interior design, clothes design, crafts, etc), but never actually did fine art as a subject until a few years ago. As it turned out I was ok and did fine, but not knowing that I could do it, made me feel somehow that I would lose face with myself if I failed, and therefore never tried, except in secret.

Same with my writing. It was kind of like it was too important to who I thought I was, to fail, because then I'd have to re-define myself from the base out. All of this coloured how I acted and reacted to people and how I led my life. It was like a weight I always carried.

That is not to say I define myself by what I do, but more by what way I think and how I express that.

I'm glad I found the courage to face that and free myself.

I was often ridiculed by family, peers, and school faculty for my writing. I once did a paper where I built up to my thesis with a great deal of introductory work rather that state it at the beginning. I wanted to provide the reader with the thesis the same way it was presented to me-searching and deciphering information. I was trying to prove my thesis before it was stated. It was an intellectual risk that I thought was a good idea, but it didn't follow standard form and couldn't be assessed by the standard rubric, so I got a 'D'.

I wrote a novella that was poked fun of by a professor. I recently lengthened it into a full scale novel and am submitting it to a publisher. I write differently than most, and to let others read it is a real deep look into who I really am. Putting it in the view of the Public was a huge step for me.