This morning while I was out on my morning run I was feeling a little out of breath near the bottom of one of the many hills surrounding Coogee. Looking up the hill, I noticed an elderly man dressed in a smart suit. Our gaze met and he could see that I was determined to attack the hill at pace. He unexpectedly threw his arm up in the air and shouted “you can do it!”. We smiled at each other as my mood immediately lifted; I received a new boost of energy and continued to power up the hill and all the way home a little quicker than usual.
As I ran home I pondered the interaction and was reminded how one’s own actions have a major impact on those around us. I then thought of my favorite excerpt from Nelson Mandela’s 1994 inaugural speech and decided it was too good not to share again –
“…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 God.
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 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.”
