Our Greatest Fear by Marianne Williamson

After I attended The Breakthrough Seminar with John Demartini in June last year, I received the part of a speech in the mail.

From the first time I read it, I loved it! I laminated it an pinned it up in my bathroom, where I have read it several times a day since.

And although I read it so often, I never really FELT what it meant until now.

My point is, there is a difference between reading something and truly feeling something. There's a saying that goes "To know and not to do is not yet to know."

I have always known what this speech means to say, I cognitively processed the words and I understood what they meant. But only know do I really FEEL what this speech means, because I practice what it preaches. I know do, therefore I know.

Here is the speech, as delivered by Nelson Mandela at his inauguration in 1994, originally written by author Marianne Williamson in 1992.

Our Greatest Fear

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 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; 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.

My Journey - One Year on...

Pretty much one year ago, I began to see glimpses of where my life could go; what I could achieve, how much happier I and fulfilled I could be.

They were only glimpses, little pieces of the picture which I would be able to see if I was in the right frame of mind: inspired, creative, open to possibilities.

AsI set to exploring the paths personal development has to offer, I began learning. Learning about human psychology and behaviour, society and myself. And so, as I surrounded myself with more people who were on the same journey as I, the glimpses started to form a whole picture.

The picture was blurry, bits and pieces kept changing as I was exploring what I wanted out of my life. But it was one picture - a whole picture/. Bits and pieces, passions and interests were coming together.

At times I was frustrated, so impatient to get there, to achieve my goals, without even knowing what they were.

Today I am calm and serene - yet excited at the same time.

Because now, one year after starting my journey, I have a vision. It is grand. Its is unrealistic. It is exciting.

I know now, deep within myself, that life has something in store for me. That I was born to achieve great things, and help others do the same.

It may take years to achieve this grand goal of mine - yet in my mind, I am already there.

In the endm it truly is about the journey, what we learn and how we develop along the way.

And I am looking forward to many more years of enjoying this journey called life.


Even if you can't understand the lyrics of the song, enjoy it! It sums up how much more there is to life, even if the journey is difficult at times.