Woman Power Wednesday - Marianne Williamson

Maryanne Williamson

Good morning LuLu,

Today I celebrate Marianne Williamson, whom I originally learned about from Cousin Ba many years ago . . .

. . . "an internationally acclaimed author and lecturer. For the last 35 years, she has been one of America’s most well known public voices, having been a popular guest on television programs such as Oprah, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, & Bill Maher. Seven of her twelve published books have been New York Times Best Sellers and four of these were #1. The mega best seller A Return to Love is considered a must-read of The New Spirituality. A paragraph from that book, beginning “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…” is considered an anthem for a contemporary generation of seekers."

Here's the full quote (in a poem format), and it is indeed one worth writing down, memorizing or posting in a favorite location. (It is interesting that the quote is often mistakenly cited as a Nelson Mandela quote. Below my closing I have posted what Williamson has said about this mis-attribution.)

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's 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're liberated from our own fear, 

Our presence automatically liberates others.

In the spirit of my recent Nuggets on Goal Setting, take some time to reflect and pray over the above words. You might also enjoy listening to this interview, titled 'Who Are You in Crises' with Marianne Williamson perhaps in the car in route to Rellis or otherwise.

Much love,

Dad

P.S. About the mis-attribution Williamson said, "Several years ago, this paragraph from A Return to Love began popping up everywhere, attributed to Nelson Mandela's 1994 inaugural address. As honored as I would be had President Mandela quoted my words, indeed he did not. I have no idea where that story came from, but I am gratified that the paragraph has come to mean so much to so many people."