“Our worst 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,
and fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God; your playing small doesn’t
serve the world. There is nothing enlightened
about shrinking so that other people won’t feel
insecure around you. We were born to make
manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just
in some of us, it is in everyone.
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
From his inaugural speech as South Africa’s
first democratically elected President, given May 10, 1994