“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 frighten us.” – Marianne Williamson (1952 – ) U.S. Spiritual author
FEAR NOT, THE FIXES AND SHINE OUR LIGHT ON THEM – “With our awareness of the exact nature of our wrongs – our character defects – and the humility inherent in that awareness, our desire to change increased dramatically … . Though we may have experienced some apprehension … we overcame our fears by drawing on the trust and faith we had developed in a loving God.” (12 & 12, p. 52)
Marianne Williamson on Our Deepest Fear (4:40)
A Fearless Journey Guided Meditation (6:28)
In what ways have you allowed your “Light” to shine, lately?
Winged Man
by Stephen Vincent Benet
The moon, a sweeping scimitar, dipped in the stormy straits,
The dawn, a crimson cataract, burst through the eastern gates,
The cliffs were robed in scarlet, the sands were cinnabar,
Where first two men spread wings for flight and dared the hawk afar.
There stands the cunning workman, the crafty past all praise,
The man who chained the Minotaur, the man who built the Maze.
His young son is beside him and the boy’s face is a light,
A light of dawn and wonder and of valor infinite.
Their great vans beat the cloven air, like eagles they mount up,
Motes in the wine of morning, specks in a crystal cup,
And lest his wings should melt apace old Daedalus flies low,
But Icarus beats up, beats up, he goes where lightnings go.
He cares no more for warnings,
he rushes through the sky,
Braving the crags of ether, daring the gods on high,
Black ‘gainst the crimson sunset, golden o’er cloudy snows,
With all Adventure in his heart the first winged man arose.
Dropping gold, dropping gold, where the mists of morning rolled,
On he kept his way undaunted, though his breaths were stabs of cold,
Through the mystery of dawning that no mortal may behold.
Now he shouts, now he sings in the rapture of his wings,
And his great heart burns intenser with the strength of his desire,
As he circles like a swallow, wheeling, flaming, gyre on gyre.
Gazing straight at the sun, half his pilgrimage is done,
And he staggers for a moment, hurries on, reels backward, swerves
In a rain of scattered feathers as he falls in broken curves.
Icarus, Icarus, though the end is piteous,
Yet forever, yea, forever we shall see thee rising thus,
See the first supernal glory, not the ruin hideous.
You were Man, you who ran farther than our eyes can scan,
Man absurd, gigantic, eager for impossible Romance,
Overthrowing all Hell’s legions with one warped and broken lance.
On the highest steeps of Space he will have his dwelling-place,
In those far, terrific regions where the cold comes down like Death
Gleams the red glint of his pinions, smokes the vapor of his breath.
Floating downward, very clear, still the echoes reach the ear
Of a little tune he whistles and a little song he sings,
Mounting, mounting still, triumphant, on his torn and broken wings!
I have been my self and through the opportunities that I have been blessed with I can Inspire and I guess that would be how my Light has Shined……
I’m also blessed to see you in action and that’s exactly what Marianne Williamson is talking about. Our ability to inspire and ignite loving kindness in others is a special gift.
I could write for days on the topic of Fear. The Big Book says that as an Alcoholic I am driven by a hundred forms of it and it also suggests that fear should be categorized with stealing because it seems to cause as much harm. The most important thing I can add to the topic is that my experience has taught me that the Program will not eliminate my fear but rather it will give me the strength, determination and faith to move forward in spite of the fear. In short, I am no longer paralyzed or dominated by my fear and I have learned to live in spite of it.
Ihave been this weekend with friends in the program and really enjoy the warm and Arnest feeling of of love and respect we have for 1 another.
Good morning everyone + Happy Sunday. Today in the Christian Church is Palm Sunday. A time in which we walk the final chapter of Jesus’s life. I reflect on his life + I reflect on my life. How do I act. How do I live. How do I remain sober. I think now, let their be peace on earth + let it begin with me. Let it begin with you as well. Peace. BB
I just watched he movie, Philadelphia with a group of Black friends in a church. It was especially enlightening for me to have shared my experience with the marching in the MLK Parade and kicking off a discussion on why the incidence of HIV among young Black men is so disproportionately high.
Just for today I am grateful for this website. Just for today I appreciate that I can write my thoughts, be directed to meditations, hear music. Just for today I can take the risk to write my thoughts here; I can write my pain, I can write my joy. This, then, is one place that it is safe to share who I am. And for that, I am grateful.