I used to love the poem “Our Greatest Fear” by Nelson Mandela and then I stumbled upon a book about Marianne Williamson that explained how this poem was actually NOT written by Nelson Mandela. He read the poem at his inauguration speech as President of South Africa and ever since, it has been attributed to him. But Marianne Williamson wrote her book, “Return to Love” in 1992.
Here is the poem:
Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not served 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; it is in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine,
we consciously give other people permission
to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
