“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.”
- Marianne Williamson
Marianne Williamson's famous quote really reminded me of our discussion about responsibility for the other. In our busy world today, we always seem to ask ourselves why we should have to be men and women for others. We fail to understand that only being interested in our own selves allows us to only live a limited life. To be interesting means to be interested in other people. The line, "And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same", reminds me that I have to be there for the other in order for both of us to succeed. By allowing others to enter my life and not hesitating to help them, I unconsciously let them shine in my own presence. I unconsciously say that I am indeed here for them and in turn I surrender myself into doing something for the other. The line, " 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." reminds me not to block myself out from the other because the other comes into my life because of the infinite. The infinite is inside all of us. We are attracted to the other because the overwhelming presence of the infinite. God is within all of us and he calls us to be men and women for others because the other is not an annoying disturbance. When we allow the other to enter our lives, we are forced to go out of our comfort zones to make room for their presence. As we allow them to enter into our lives, we are compelled to let their light shine to us because we cannot grasp them. Since they have the infinite inside of them, the other is the only person capable of revealing their light to us and make their otherwise invisible face visible.
I like how you said that "When we allow the other to enter our lives, we are forced to go out of our comfort zones to make room for their presence." Also, I guess when we do this we surrender a part of ourselves to this Other and thus this is how we are moved outward towards this reality. This is how we experience the Other as we go out of ourselves into their world and as they go out of theirs into ours. We are moved by this Other as the Other constantly moves into our reality. Thus, when we encounter Others in our lives we are immediately captured by them in such a way that we can no longer escape our responsibility for them as we need to respond to their call.
ReplyDeleteFrenchi Baluyot
A
It's definitely amazing how a slight shift in awareness, brought about by Philosophy class, can make us change how we view a lot of things. We are all naturally programmed as humans to look out for ourselves, to sustain our lives, and to survive. Most of the time we think we can do this on our own, but the fact of the matter is, we need each other to move forward and achieve great things.
ReplyDeleteLeo Lorenzo (A)
I'm not necessarily sure that we really fear being "powerful beyond measure." I think we doubt that we are "powerful beyond measure." I think before philosophy class introduced the infinite within all of us, we didn't even know that it was there. We overlook or doubt our strengths and over exaggerate our weaknesses because we fear what might happen if we fail. I think what we fear is failing. Being infinite is simply a mind set we can use in order to diminish our fear of inadequacy and in turn do what must be done.
ReplyDeleteI guess you blog also talks about what we were supposed to learn in our JEEP experiences. Not only does the experience enlighten us of the condition of the other, we must realize our mission and our responsibility to reach towards the other and help them free themselves from their poverty. Knowing should lead to a push in us to move and to act, leaving our comfort zones, going out and helping the other.
ReplyDeleteMar Tan - PH 102 A
I love how you quoted Marianne Williamson. If anyone minds, it's best heard from the movie Coach Carter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_fDhqRk_Ro. Also, I really love this quote because not only does it highlight one's own importance in the world, but how much they affect everyone as well. It's beautiful the way the quote says that by shining yourself, you help both yourself and everyone around you. I like how you even highlighted the line that states so, here.
ReplyDelete"As we allow them to enter into our lives, we are compelled to let their light shine to us because we cannot grasp them. Since they have the infinite inside of them, the other is the only person capable of revealing their light to us and make their otherwise invisible face visible." I think this is the beauty of being able to interact with another person. We allow ourselves to be touched by another and likewise affect another person as well. As such, responsibility comes wherein we always have to remember that responsibility does not always mean doing the good, but responding to these people in ways they need. It's not all about what's in it for me, but now what I can do for the other. This is something that I think many people today become blinded about. They begin to feel that mere acts of charity is an "act of good will" that will cleanse them. It's centered on the I. However, once people start to see the beauty of selfless giving, they'll be able to absorb this light within them :)
ReplyDeleteYza Siy
A
"no man is an island." Helping the other is extending our infinite selves. We as human are relational beings. This means one cannot stand on its own. The other ignite the light in our hearts for them to make us realize that they exists, that they have faces. We should be aware that they also have their light that we too must ignite. This mutual responsibility is what it means to live in the context of the other.
ReplyDeleteJoel Magturo
Ph 102 A
I like how you used the analogy of light. It reminds me of my high school, where our motto is "Luceat Lux"- "let your light shine". Just as others are lights to us and illuminate our lives, we are called to be lights to them, being there for them and treat them as fellow humans, and even being magis and going beyond, caring for them beyond what we're called to do.
ReplyDeleteMiguel Co
PH102 A