This is Day 24 of the Advent Calendar for 2015. Open more doors here >>
“…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.” Marianne Williamson
How could you not love this? I find this quote so uplifting and motivating, so to me it was the perfect quote to end the Advent Calendar Inspiration series. There are three key parts to this quote:
Permission.
This gives you permission to be amazing. To be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous. Permission to be everything that you can be. It says that even though being incredible feels scary – the responsibility, the opportunities that seem terrifying, the words of others, the business growth that seems so huge and out of reach and complex – all those things and more – in spite of the fear that we might feel of the unknown – we have permission to not only shine and be as bright as we can be but also to be a little scared. That’s how everyone feels.
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Click to tweet: “We are all meant to shine”
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Challenge
Who are we not to be all that we can be? Here we are, born into this world at this time, with all the opportunities that are presented to us – who are we not to make the most of them? Marianne Williamson is challenging us to be the most incredible versions of ourselves that we can be. To play big, to shine, to stop hiding and instead to step out. To take the world by the horns and give it a good shake. She’s saying “go on, you can do it” – after all, the glory of God is inside us and with Him everything is possible right? The challenge is to step into your fear, out of your comfort zone, out of the boat and into the world with God right there with you and to do amazing things. What can you do to stop playing small? How can you serve the world? Get yourself out there, get yourself heard. Cut through the noise. Uplevel. Go for it. Plan to be big, dare to dream. Shine.
Inspiration
In school did you sing “This little light of mine?” If so, you’ll remember the verse “Hide it under a bush- o no! I’m going to let it shine.” This is what you have to do with your light, let is shine. Don’t hide your light behind a bush – behind someone or something else. Be all that you can be and do whatever it is that you do on a grand scale – and you will find that you inspire others to get out of their own way and make things happen too. We do this without trying, inspiring others just by being us – by showing up and showing that in some way we are different, we have something that they want. The great thing about this being that others are inspired with no further effort on our part – although maybe this would be a moment to consider mentoring or sharing our story in a bigger way. How can you not only let your light shine, but spread that light around a little wider?
It sounds a bit scary letting your light shine, being you and stepping out – but the first couple of lines reassure us that this is normal. This quote gives us permission and a challenge so that we can be an inspiration to others. It says ‘you can do this’. So get your act together, work out what you want to do and how you’re going to make it happen and go for it!
In the comments: What can you do to help your light shine?
