“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?
