Quote from "Akeelah and the Bee"

We've been watching this amazing movie in some classes this week, "Akeelah and the Bee." I'll add more to this post later -- but for now I wanted to get this quote from the movie onto the blog so students could use it today in class.


"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."

This quote is often erroneously attributed to Nelson Mandela. It actually comes from the book Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson.