Our Deepest Fear

I’m three weeks into my graduate program in pastoral studies.

The Director of Worship and Liturgy shared this with us during orientation. My yoga teacher happens to be a fan of Williamson, so I had heard the first part of this quote from her many times. I kinda like the second part, too.

“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.”

The words above can be found here:

A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles by Marianne Williamson

My TBR list is growing by the week. Did I mention it was only the third week?

Creation Versus Chaos: The Reinterpretation of Mythical Symbolism in the Bible by Bernhard Anderson

Diary of St. Faustina by St. Maria Faustina Kowalska

I and Thou by Martin Buber

Life of the Beloved by Henri J.M. Nouwen

Love and Responsibility by Karol Woktyla

Method in Theology by Bernard Lonergan

Pacem in Terris by John XXII

She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse by Elizabeth Johnson

The Origin and Goal of History by Karl Jaspers 

The Stranger by Albert Camus

The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions by Karen Armstrong