‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us … and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same: liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.’
(Marianne Williamson)
‘Owe no man anything except the debt of love.’ (St. Paul)
I really disagree. I think it is a deep seated hope that I might be powerful and manifest God’s glory, admittedly not for purely unselfish reasons, but I think it is a secret hope. I think to be found first by myself and then by others to be inadequate, an imposterer, an empty, flat person is the biggest fear.
Thank you Nat. I guess it’s a personal experience thing in the end, but at the same time I would like to explore this further because I also believe it is a deep rock solid fact of life for most people and a clue to a way ahead on the quest. For me it was the slowly forming conclusion that all this ‘being loved and becoming a wonderful piece of music in eternity’ stuff was actually a dirty trap and the sooner I killed it the better. As a boy I lived inside a nightmare where a rainbow occasionally shone through. Eventually the nightmare stood over me and more or less said, ‘You listen to me boy. The nightmare always wins.’ I accepted that for this life, which meant I would study and work and even pray hard to build a safe little castle that of course would one day be torn down. The real hope would have to wait for something that might happen after death.
For a while I felt kind of safe with that, as in safe on the inside, because now internal expectations of the soul were at rock bottom anbd I could not be hurt. But then at Uni I began to wonder again whether it might be true that I was literally related to a god as it were and was being invited to become a little god thingy in this world. Then the fear began to come because I knew instinctively that there are such people in this world and their journey is inevitably a battle scarred one. As Jesus quoted from the Old Testament in the New: ‘I have said, ye are gods …’I am astounded at how often I have seen people run in terror from what Jesus is suggesting, and in a way I can’t blame them.
Marianne Williamson is a poet and I’ve included her full quote below: ‘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 others permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.