I was watching the great Oprah Winfrey interview Whitney Houston’s closest friend, Pat Houston (she was also Whitney Houston’s sister-in-law), this morning and it made me really sad. I was sad because it became clear to me that Whitney was given a divine gift which is also her curse. She was born with the gift of her voice, but what she deeply sought was love. She wants romantic Love from a man, but most men are terrified of the power of her gift. Therefore, she sought to destroy the gift and in so doing, dim her light which make her less intimidating to men. In the process of destroying her gift, she destroyed herself. This shows that gifts we are born with and what we need in life are two different things.
I always loved this quote by Nelson Mandela which best describes the importance of never dimming our light or dumbing ourselves down. “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”.
I hope that this quote makes you feel strongly about how important it it to be proud of your gifts and continue to shine, regardless of what others around you feel or are doing. Shine On!
By
Ngo Okafor
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