You Have a Right to Shine...

"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."

Wherever you are Marianne Williamson, I thank you so much for such profound and poignant words. This quote moves me every single time I read it and it’s one I live by daily. If I can help it, you too will be living by this everyday. I love every word and how it is so excellently written, but there is this one particular line that I remember every time I need to step outside my comfort zone. "We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?" There is a noticeable connection with this quote and my previous post in quite a few aspects but I wanted to focus in particular on the right you have to be yourself and to be great at it. When we are constantly worried about what others think of us we do ourselves an injustice by not measuring up to the greatness within us. Instead we diminish ourselves but conforming to a mold that has been created for us by others.

For those who know me, I’m a very shy person, and sadly enough it has acted as a bit of a barrier between myself and my full potential. I will give you an example. I love to sing. I am no Mariah Carey, but I can definitely hold my own. When I was younger I used to get on stage and every bone in my body would be shaking. It was a nightmare. As soon as the song was over I’d run off the stage into the nearest corner I could find and cry...literally! There’s something about millions of eyes on me that up to this day doesn’t quite sit well with me. I hate being the center of attention. As I got older, I realized that I needed to break out of my shyness; I needed to push myself and exit my comfort zone. I had to train myself. I haven’t exactly mastered my shyness 100% but I can say that being on a stage today feels so much better than it did as a child. I love the stage; the feeling is actually indescribable. I could go on and on about singing on a stage, but let me not stray from what it is I’m actually trying to say.

I was literally afraid of being great; afraid of the sound of my own voice, if you will. I don’t want you guys to be that way. If you happen to struggle with shyness or other impeding personality traits, you need to take a step today and break out of it now. Marianne Williamson was saying that you don’t have the right to NOT excel in everything you do. Who are you not to be intelligent? Who are you not to be talented? Who are you not to be beautiful? Guys, I’ll say it again, you don’t have the right to not be the amazing people I know you are. Never downgrade and underestimate the greatness within you. Never let internal or external forces stop you from being the greatest version of yourself. A part of self love is also allowing yourself to be all you can be. You have a right to shine. So shine!