Words have always held a special power for me. Words are the magic of communication, sharing a message or emotion, revealing a truth or idea, offering comfort or advice, giving instructions or feedback.
The right words at the right time can change your life. Sometimes you may have heard the words before but you weren’t really ready to listen to their message until that very moment. Like the Buddhist proverb…
“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”
Marianne Williamson is one of those teachers I had to see at least once in my lifetime. Through my friend’s generosity I got to hear her speak live a few days ago.
Marianne shared so many pearls of wisdom over the day, things that felt so right, some things that gave me goose-bumps, some that brought tears to my eyes and lots of things that made me laugh. She’s a leading light in the spiritual transformation space and she is also down to earth practical and funny.
I scribbled down as many of her words as I could and saved them all in my growing list of favourite quotes. Some of the quotes on my favourites list are inspirational, some practical, some philosophical and some just make me laugh.
This is my favourite Marianne Williamson quote because this one prompted a life changing moment for me.
It’s from her book ‘A Return to Love’ and it goes like this…
I first read this at a time when I was feeling pretty damn dark and ordinary, life was rolling over me, dragging me along, and I was scrambling to keep up. I felt directionless and frustrated. Reading those words was exactly what I needed to hear, right then in that very moment. It made me stop and reassess all the stories I’d stored up since childhood about not being too big for my boots, about keeping myself small, not being a tall poppy.
I wanted to serve the world and I knew shrinking and staying in the dark was not going to do it. So I decided then and there not play small anymore, even if I got ridiculed and beaten up. I decided to give it my best shot to serve the world. And it feels so much better than shrinking – most of the time. Sometimes its still a little scary but I keep going back to those words, I take a deep breath, put another light globe in the socket and switch it on.
Here’s a couple of steps that could help you find the right words for yourself:
- Firstly, ask yourself – are you playing small, are you hiding your own light so others won’t feel insecure around you? Is it your time to shine, to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Write it all down in a journal of course.
- Read something a little different to get a different point of view, try Marianne Williamson’s ‘A Return to Love’.
- If you’re not up for a big read, subscribe to some inspirational quotes on your favourite social media channel or ask your friends for their favourite quotes and have a real conversation with them about why they like that particular one.
- When you find a quote that feels right for you right now, write it out and stick it to a wall where you can see and read it every day. And read it – every single day.
Go confidently and thanks for reading.
Veronica