rivers_bend

hi, first of all thanks for this post -- it's horrifying but a necessary reminder -- thanks!

then I wanted to bring up something about the attribution of the quotation you close with.

"There is no passion to be found in playing small - in settling for a life
that is less than the one you are capable of living." ~Nelson Mandela

There's a writer named Marianne Williamson who is the source of a longer but very similar quote. I get the impression perhaps Mandela is referring to her work? but in googling I can't locate the source of his quotation (it's not his 1994 inaugural tho). Anyways, just in the interest of giving women their due, I thought I'd quote this here for you -- hope it's not too spammy ---

“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.” From Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love, 1992.

Cheers!