My pool chat with Marianne Williamson: and her message to me and you!

I have long believed that when we are faced with problems, worries or challenges that the ‘Universe’ (or God, Source, our Spirit guides/whatever label works for you) comes to us with a helping hand if we are open to receiving the guidance offered.

I have experienced this many, many times in my life; little miracles, messages and just plain old weird but helpful happenings.

I had one such experience when I was on Richard Branson’s Necker Island last week where I took part in a Virgin Unite/Business Chicks Leadership Program. And the divine messenger was none other than Marianne Williamson.

If you don’t know of Marianne Williamson, she is the person who penned that most famous quote beginning, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…” which is considered an anthem for a contemporary generation of seekers. (see the end of this article for the full version).

Marianne is spiritual teacher, internationally acclaimed best-selling author, lecturer and regular program guest on television programs such as Oprah, Larry King Live, Good Morning America and Charlie Rose.

She was on Necker participating as a speaker in the leadership program, but also spent the four days eating, swimming and chatting with us all.

It was in the pool that Marianne and I began chatting.

As I floated by her, Marianne asked me how I was going. Being an extrovert, I opened up and told her exactly how I was feeling at that particular moment.

Small.

You see, we had just spent the morning listening to three extraordinary people, Jane Wurwand, Alexa Von Toebel and Matt Mullenweg share their inspiring stories of how they created their uber successful business empires.

Jane founded global skin care brand, Dermalogica, Alexa just sold her two year-old business LearnVest for millions and Matt created WordPress when he was just 19 years old!!

I absolutely loved hearing their stories and was so inspired by their vision, their purpose and their determination.

But I had also started to compare myself to them and that little critic in my head was whispering to me, telling me that I am not enough.

So I just blurted that straight out to Marianne – and then was totally embarrassed and just wished I had kept my mouth shut and pretended everything was AOK!

But I didn’t…I told her, ‘I feel small.’

She replied to me, “Do I have your permission to do a session with you,” to which I responded a resounding “YES”.

We moved over to a quiet place in the pool.

Marianne told me that other people in the group were feeling that way as well.

And then she told me this…

There is a line in the bible that says, ‘All of the children of God are special, and none of the children of God are special’. We are all perfect and we are all imperfect, even Richard Branson.

 It is wonderful that people are out their doing amazing things in the world, creating their businesses and making a lot of money. But…

 True success is measured by the quality of your humanity.

 What is really important is love: the love in your heart; being kind, being loving and being of service.

It was perfect. Her words were just what I needed to hear. I was so distracted coveting the success of others that I had forgotten my Why, my Purpose!

I created The Sista Code to be of service to other women: to encourage women to kinder to themselves, to be kinder to other women and bring women to together to support other women in need – whether that is building a home for a woman in Nepal, donating clothes and resources for women escaping domestic violence or just celebrating the Sista-Hood together.

That is my Why and my Purpose.

Marianne’s words are a message for all of us!

We are all perfect and we are all imperfect. What matters is the love in our heart, how we treat people and how we can be of service to others.

We can’t compare ourselves to others, we are all on our own journey.

We all have our own unique Purpose, our own unique Why.

Whether you are a nurse, a driving instructor, an accountant, an entrepreneur, a stay-at-home mum, what matters is the quality of your humanity: the love in your heart and how you can serve others.

Now if you have not heard of Marianne Williamson, here is her most famous, beautiful and inspirational quote from her book, Return to Love. Enjoy!

“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.”

With love,

Mel xx