I love this quote because it reminds me that just as the ego can get in the way of acting grandiose, so can the ego get in the way of acting “less than” who we are. Somehow, when we are struggling with low self esteem and difficulty in believing in ourselves, it can come off as being “meek and humble” and somewhat “good” to not embrace who we are – like a martyr. Yet, we have all experienced hearing someone we love put him/herself down. It can be felt within our own being. It feels hurtful and “not right” – not the truth. Denial of ourselves is not aligned with God’s Mind.
Putting ourselves down is one way we can make ourselves little. Another way is to dim our light. We might do that by making sure we stay under the radar, not calling attention to ourselves or choosing to not step into doing something big for fear we might actually succeed. Perhaps we don’t want to succeed because someone else is not succeeding, or we grew up with the message not to “outshine” others. So we dim our essence and put the bushel basket over our light.
Yet, if we were to think really think about this, isn’t our mission on this earth to bring more light into the world? Light equates to love. Love equates to healing. We want the world to be at peace, healed, and whole. Each of us has a task to do here towards that mission. We are unique and bring our own unique piece/peace to the puzzle. It isn’t enough to think that others can do the work that you are called to do just because you have justified it by telling yourself that someone else can do it better than you. Another way to look at the situation is that when we center on putting ourselves down, feeling bad, not spreading our light to the world, we get in the way of the “greater good” we are called to do. It is self-serving to waste our time focusing on being “less than” others. If we are stuck in this way of thinking, perhaps we are being called to really look at how to heal so we can do the work we are called to do. It is a very “doable” task to heal low self esteem, if you choose it.
It is time to live “large”. Living “large” means embracing who we are, loving ourselves, and allowing the light within ourselves to grow. Acknowledge our essence and be all we are meant to be. Let that light of ours shine so that we can heal the planet, one person at a time, with each of us doing our part – shining our light.
Foundation for Inner Peace. (1975). Course in Miracles. Tiburon: Foundation for Inner Peace.
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