Our Greatest Fear

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 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's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. 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.
Marianne Williamson

My class learned this quote this year, as they have each year for the past ten years. But I think this year's class got it more than any other class I've taught, which is insightful, because this has been the toughest class I've taught in ten years. Sure, I had my share of tough kids who gave us trouble all year long, and some didn't live this, but this class cared, they cared deeply about life, and most of them realized that they CAN be great, they CAN rise above their poverty and the problems life has given them and be GREAT. Now I just hope they can carry this with them as they move on to junior high. God bless them.