Fire in the Belly

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, 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 enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is 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 fear, our presence automatically liberates others." - Marianne Williamson, co-leader of the United States Department of Peace movement

I am grateful to a reader of this blog who introduced me to the above quote a few years ago.

I know what scares me the most- the thought that I might actually be able to succeed at something. That thought creates a desire, which creates the possibility of failure, which stops me in my tracks and freezes me. Suddenly, I can't breath.

I am scared to try and fail. I know that it's "better to have tried and failed than to never have tried at all" but what about the discouragement and dejection that comes from rejection? What about being to scared to try again?

I emailed a former professor recently for advice, and he was really encouraging. He let me know what he thought of my skills and where they would be most effective. Suddenly, he put this idea in my head that maybe I could actually do something substantial, be something.

I'm not saying I never believed in myself, it's just nice to hear it from someone else. Sometimes we get this fire inside of us that roars to life and propels us forward, urging us on to try things we were previously afraid of.

Sometimes that fire is what sets us free, sometimes it is what consumes and eventually destroys us. The choice is up to you.

In that vein, a quote by Joseph Campbell: