Playing Small

There is a quote, by Marianne Williamson, "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." This quote has been with me for years and continues to take on meaning as I learn and grow.

As I chase my dreams and put them out there, I have few fears of success or failure that come from inside of me. I know with all that I am, that this is exactly what I should be doing, in this minute. My fears come from the inability to retract what is exposed and left for others to evaluate. For this reason, I have been playing small.

Most of my life I have followed. I became very good at smoke and mirrors, and even received a great deal of recognition for it. I was praised for this or that and I began to believe it was all that I was. I continued to play small. Through a great deal of reflection and the search for true joy, I have learned that playing small is serving no purpose.

I, like you, have so much to give. I, like you, will not experience all of the blessings this life has to offer, until I stand in the light of all that I am. It's risky, I get that. But, I feel that there is a greater risk in not fulfilling our life's work, that comes from honoring who it is we were created to be.

Right now, for me, this means I throw my hands up on the air, spin in circles, and shine. Not because it looks a certain way to certain people, but because it is my time. I don't want to be bigger than life; I want to be full of it. I want to pass this knowledge on to girls and help them to stop looking outward, but learn what it feels like to be filled with the self. To know that who you are, your thoughts and beliefs, your likes and dislikes, are just as they should be.

I am 31 years old. I feel fortunate to be learning this lesson now. But oh, wouldn't it be great to have our girls growing up with a group that is connected by its desire to understand their unique gifts and talents, rather than playing small in order to be the same as everyone else? This is not a deliberate lesson, no one teaches our girls to play small, but what if they were taught not to?