Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Aug/Sept 2019 Aspire Mag FINAL | Page 73

–MARIANNE WILLIAMSON
Hard to relate to, right? I know. You think
your “real” self is nervous, uncomfortable
in her body, and lacking confidence with
attractive men. You’re convinced that your
own mysterious Diamond Self is either
impossible to muster up or dead and buried.
Well, consider this: You are probably
suffering from a serious delusion about your
real self. You are confusing the wounded,
fear-bound, and scarred-over you, the one
who is constrained by delimiting cultural and
familial labels, with the beautiful and perfectly
okay self you were born with. As Marianne
Williamson puts it, “Love is what we are
born with. Fear is what we learn.” Here is
a powerful step to help you rediscover and
build on that original loving and lovable self.
Think back to when you were an infant,
toddler, or young child. Look at photos where
When you were that sweet child running
around, what did you enjoy? Was it the
running around, or cooking on your Fisher-
Price play stove? Maybe it was sitting still
staring at a bumble bee. Were you a big
talker or a chubby witness who sat on your
potty throne and took it all in? Did you love to
finger paint? Think back and remember that
early time when you were free to play and
explore the world. What were you like? This
is a time before you were boxed in by your
parents’ and society’s expectations, fears,
and neuroses. Before you were ignored,
shamed, or told you were bad. Before the
limitations and fears set in.
Chances are, all those early traits are still
with you, in their grown-up manifestations.
And they are all utterly you and okay. In fact,
they are charming, even captivating. But
they may be entirely hidden.
I have an old photo of myself from that
innocent first era, before I closed down
my heart and got shy to the point of being
mute. It shows a cherubic three-year-old
in a beloved park where I used to love to
race around and climb all the rocks. I am
sitting in the dirt, grinning wide-eyed at the
camera, posing with joy and confidence, an
impish tomboy in my dirty polka-dot dress. I
keep the picture by my computer and look at
it with great appreciation almost every day.
That is me. In fact, when I watched myself on
the Today Show, I giggled outright because
I caught the tomboy imp in a dress staring
back at me from the TV set.
73
“Love is what
we are born
with. Fear
is what we
learn.”
you were all smiles, alive, and in the moment.
You were born with innocence, natural
curiosity, and joy in the world. The original
you was a fully present, adorable little being,
in touch with all of her blissful feelings and
naturally assertive and self-expressed.