Bronvermelding van "Onze grootste vrees is niet..."

Deze tekst hadden we ergens gevonden op 't internet. Zoals wel vaker gebeurt op 't internet was de bronvermelding echter niet correct. We hadden begrepen dat het een tekst van Nelson Mandela was, uit 1994, maar dat bleek niet te kloppen.

De originele tekst blijkt van de schrijfster Marianne Williamson te zijn. De volgende tekst staat in haar boek "A return to love" uit 1992:

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 doesn't serve the world. There's 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're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

In 1994 was de bevestiging van Nelson Mandela als president van Zuid Afrika. In zijn inaugurale rede zou hij het bovenstaande hebben gezegd, maar dat klopt dus niet. De reactie van Marianne Williamson hierop:

As honored as I would be had President Mandela quoted my words, indeed he did not. I have no idea where that story came from, but I am gratified that the paragraph has come to mean so much to so many people.

De originele rede van Nelson Mandela staat hier.

Zoals je ziet zijn er meer dan genoeg plekken op 't internet waar je inspiratie op kunt doen...!