Our Deepest Fear...

One of my favourite quotes is by author and lecturer Maryanne Williamson. It is one of those quotes that strikes deeply and resonates to the core of my spiritual self.

“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 most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' 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 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 all of us. And when 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.”

I am sure many of you have heard of, or even read this quote in her book "A Return to Love" ---another book on my reading list. The reason I think this quote gets to me so much is because we so often stop ourselves from saying or doing what we truly feel in order to spare other people. I have worked hard over the years against this. I believe in diplomacy and politeness but I don't believe in walking on eggshells.

Those who know me, know where I stand on animal issues. I am an advocate of animal rights and do not use animals as a means to my own ends. I have spent many years reading and researching the works of animal rights activists, the politics of animal-human issues and have come to realize that this is the most important cause in my life. But being vegan in a non-vegan world is very challenging. Not because I have to prepare my food and read labels and pass up pizza but because I have to deal with the ignorance of people who just don't get it. Not everyone is open to hearing the brutal truth of the injustices inflicted on animals in every aspect of society; from food to entertainment, to clothes and recreational sports, animals are constantly used to provide for humans. With the advent of media tools such as the net, this information is more common but somehow it doesn't seem to compute for some--hence the reason for this post and this quote. "Your playing small does not serve the world"-- .