aasthaD, aditiV, aishwariyaG, aishwaryaM, Alan.fly, alfieD, alpaD, andreaN, aneriT, ankitaT, annabelleF, anushkaM, arshiaKa, arushiCK, asmitaK,
boscoR, brancaT,
carls, cherylD, clerisaV, corinneR,
debashreeD, darshiS, deepaSom, dimpleKh,
fleurelD, glendaN,
helenaF, hetviD, insiaL, ivoraP, janineC, janiceB, jasmine, jennyP, jessicaA, joeySP, jyotsnaM,
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safaP, salimS, saradaB, savioCar, shailaA, shaziyaK, shivangiP, shonaliS, shreyaT, shrutiW, siddharthK, siddhiA, sohiniM, soniaMenon, sudhaP, sumedhaK, swethaA, tuputC,
vaishaliJ, varadaS, valerieR, wesleyJ,
yashuU, yvetteG,
My dear
Thought for the days ahead:
Photo/quote: terryq
Under the glass of my table-top in the counselling centre is this quote that I ask students and others who are high on inferiority complex and low on self-esteem to read.
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 may ask ourselves:
“Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, 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 about you.
We are born to make manifest
the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our 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.
Nelson Mandela
Inaugural speech, 1994
Once they have read it there is an acknowledging nod as if a way is seen about how the low self-esteem could be dealt with. More encouragement from me and they move on. I do not know how successful they are in dealing with their particular difficulty but I send with them a hope and a prayer that they will grow in confidence and soon become the beautiful people they are capable of becoming.
For many years of my life, I myself went through feelings of inadequacy and not being able to measure up to expectations – my own or those of others. I remember a very good Jesuit superior telling me to take off the sun-glasses through which I used to look at myself. And many who told me that I had a lot of potential and was not using much of it.
But all that is history.
It wasn’t Nelson Mandela’s quote that liberated me. I do not remember what did, but just now I am confident and quite a show-off about the many talents and qualities I have.
And because I myself have been there, I am committed to help others become confident, develop, and show off the richness and talents that they themselves have.
Good work to be doing and I am glad that I do it. There I go… showing off again!
Weather-wise it is hot hot hot.. and it is not the right season to be waiting for the rains to cool things off.
Stay well, and take care… and be cool!
Love, Terry