Tuesday, June 5, 2012

"Playing Small" - Damaris

“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.”
~Nelson Mandela
 
One of my favorite bloggers had a portion of this quote on his blog. 
 

“There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”


It has always stood out to me.
I. freaking. love. it.
 
My Peanut and I talked about this and other topics for nearly an hour yesterday , as we got her ready for church camp.
[photo from this morning]
 
[with undoubtedly the freaking coolest bag at camp-thanks PRR!] 
 
She is one week away from her 12th birthday and let me say . . . .things are changing way too fast around our home.  The conversations are much more serious, which is hard when she has a mom that's a tiny bit sarcastic.
 
I'm used to questions like:
 
* Would you rather eat a scab salad or blister juice?
* Would you rather be set on fire or freeze to death?
* Why can't I invite who I want to my party?
* Would you rather have a dog with diarrhea or a dog that throws up?
 
I'm NOT used to these ones:
 
* Why are girls so mean to each other?
* Can I shave?
* Why do people say untrue things about each other?
* Why don't people worry more about their own business?
* Why do you have to read all my texts?
 
We hit on some super random topics.
Everything from friends, to zit cream ,to truly being happy.  But one thing is for sure - - - this girl of mine - - there's no stopping her.  Not exactly sure where she found her self-esteem but it freaking rocks.
 
i. am. taking. notes. from. her.
 
Too often we allow ourselves to feel inadequate and afraid of letting our lights shine in fear that we may fail..and fail miserably...in front of what may feel like the whole world. 
 
worst. mistake. ever. 
 
Yes, I have a ever growing list of "to-do's", "must do's" and "freaking will do without a question" in life.  I may fail once, or four times while trying but I will do them.
 
no. question.
 
*And to "savruns" who sent me the SNA {sooooo not awesome}email last week.*
 
 
I [not sarcastically] thank you.
I take being a "freak" as a HUGE FREAKING compliment.
 
So how are you "playing big" in life today?

14 comments:

Kathy said...

Argh, my kids are 8 and 11 - still pretty darn wonderful. But I know what I'm on the cusp of ... gulp.
Love the Mandela quote!

FashionablyFit said...

good post! & good luck with the soon to be TEENAGE girl. sounds like she's got a good head on her shoulders. kudos to you, mom!

Unknown said...

“There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

Is my favorite quote ever. Has always been.

Your peanut is growing up fast!

I think that the minute I decided not to "get a real job" and pursue my filmmaking/producing passion… playing big was ON. :D

racing dawn said...

I looooovvveeee this post. Love it.

Love the quote. Love Peanut. {I totally started shaving my legs summer after 6th grade.} but I want these girls to stop growing/aging. Now. Please.

Thanks for reminding us to strive for our pure awesomeness. You are a perfect example of it. We would all love to be a 'freak' aka rockstar like you.

🎷🌟

Kera said...

:(

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Anonymous said...

I love this post. Every single word. I want to write this quote down and put it in my pocket so every day I have to read it. Better yet, I should post it on my bathroom mirror.

It's so amazing that we look at our kids for inspiration as they do the same to us. It is really special.

Char said...

Yeah - those serious questions... They totally take you by surprise and all of a sudden your brain has to find a new set of answers. It's really amazing, though, to see your little kid turn slowly in to an incredible adult.

Jason said...

This is a serious post but for one second: Can we just ask Beth this question:
Would you rather have a dog with diarrhea or a dog that throws up?

She would no the answer to it.

Back to our show:

I don't fear failure and I think that is my greatest gift. I welcome challenges knowing that I will fail and fail miserably but it does not stop me. It gives me inspiration and motivation. It forces me to look inside and work. I am not afraid of work while it seems like the majority of the world is. We didn't get pyramids and bridges and land on the moon because of luck....it happened because a select few worked hard. I plan on working hard and I relish being called a freak. A Puerto Rican who lived in NY, moved to Dallas and knew nobody but took a chance on love who quit drinking and meat to become a better triathlete.....take that world and that is just the first half of my life.

Rachelle Wardle said...

Great post! I love your blog.

Petraruns said...

Thank you - I needed this post tonight. X

The Green Girl said...

Your Peanut is so lucky to have you as her mom. Seriously.