Thoughts.....

By Nelson Mandela

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,
georgous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other 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 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!

I came across the above poem today. A friend sent it to me awhile back and I just kept her email. These words are also featured in the movie Akeelah and the Bee.
I am having somewhat of a difficult period in my life and am searching for the strength to find peace within my self. Dreams of the picture perfect life, yes perhaps I secretly wanted to be Bree Van de Camp, Desperate housewives, but I also just thought my life would somehow end up differently.
Not that it is over, I still have a ways to go, but I do see the end coming faster than slower. The progression has increased quite a bit in the last month. My left leg is really getting hard to move. Grief enters the body through the left side. And i have been greiving for so long, the loss of my mom, the loss of my personal independence and finally the loss of a relationship that has been over for neary 8 years. Admitting and being honest with myself has been quite a battle. The sense of failure has loomed so close to my head for so long. Until now, I didn't realize it wasn't me who failed. somethings just don't work out. For what ever reason. I have to forgive, move on and live the best way I know how.
I write this as a personal reminder.... Tomorrow is the beginning of another chance to give, share, laugh and love.
Live life like you mean it.
B & L
T