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January 31, 2005
Dear Friends,
If someone were to ask you, "What is your deepest fear?" what would
you tell them? A few nights ago I went to see the movie "Coach
Carter". I have never seen a movie that has touched me to the depth
of my soul as that movie did.
I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I yelled out yes, that’s right,
nearly embarrassed myself I got so caught up in it. I wish that
everyone could see that wonderful movie.
It’s a movie filled with "tough love" and figuring out what is
REALLY important in life. In one scene the coach asked one of the
tough street guys that was playing for him, "What is your deepest
fear?" The kid looked at him as if he were crazy, not able to come
up with an answer. Near the end of the film this tough street kid
stood to his feet and I burst into tears as he quoted the following:
"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, 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 ENLIGHTENING ABOUT
SHRINKING SO THAT OTHER PEOPLE WON’T FEEL UNSURE AROUND YOU. We
were born to make manifest the glory of God that is WITHIN us.
It is NOT just in SOME OF US, it is IN EVERYONE. 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
(From his 1994 Inaugural address)
I hope you will
read this and then read it again. I hope it will give you the
courage to step out and be everything you can be.
Print it out and send it to a young person you know that may be
struggling with the questions, "who am I" and "why am I here".
We are NEVER too old or too young to accomplish something great in
our lives. Do not EVER let FEAR stop you from being what you KNOW
you can be. As my husband told me when I was about to do "Surreal
Life", "honey, go!" Let your light SHINE! So my message to you is
let nothing stop you! Press on toward your goal in life! Drop the
word FEAR from your vocabulary and SHINE my friend, SHINE!
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Much love,
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