After Casey mentioned needing some inspiration in our talking circle today, I was thinking about what poems and quotes I look at to inspire me when I need some. I thought I would share this inspirational quote that hangs on the wall above my desk, and has hung above my desk in all of the different places (6 of them) that I have lived while in University. My copy is very tattered, so I thought I'd add a spicey-looking one to my blog:

"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 the Spirit. 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 the Spirit 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."


-- Nelson Mandela (1994 Inaugural Speech)