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
The above quotation from Marianne Williamson’s book, A Return to Love is one of my all-time favorite quotes. Her words pierce my soul because that’s exactly what truth does when it hits you in the right spot: it leaves an impact and it inspires change. Being a Williamson fan, I was thrilled to find out about a live conference call / interview being hosted by Ali Brown on Thursday night and let me tell you, the call did not disappoint.
I took copious notes as I listened, writing down the exact choice of words that Marianne used so that I could share them here without them losing their authenticity. She urged women into leadership in America by doing everything with love and by never forgetting that together, we change things. Together, we can change the world. Together, we can change the fact that 46 million Americans live in poverty or that 1 billion people on the planet live on less than $1.25/day. It all starts with love and with each one of us taking small, intentional steps of action.
What I most loved that Marianne said on the call though was her answer to how to take the first step of action. She told us, her listeners, that “everything begins with awareness. Nothing changes on the outside until we change the conversation that we have inside our own head.” And how right she is. If you want to help change the world around you, the changes must first start inside of you. Let awareness of what is going on inside you be your first step. Change the conversation that you have inside your own head, and then use that new conversation to love on the world around you.