permission to shine

Speaking of Akeelah, the movie most aptly used this quote, which sits near the top of my top ten favourite quotes of all time:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
(Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love, 1992)

It reminds me a little of the Bachelor Girl single, Permission to Shine. Here are some of the lyrics:

I've been crazy.
I've been holdin' myself back for so long
But I've got so much I can give
Don't wanna be afraid to be wrong

You know I'm not too good at too many things
But I've been gettin' real good at gettin' down on myself
But guess what
I'm gonna try to break free from this prison I've built

I'm gonna give myself permission to shine
I'm gonna shine so bright
Gonna make every head wanna turn
You're finally gonna see me
Give myself permission to shine
Gonna light up the night
Shine a little of my light on the world

Fabulous song! When I taught English in Japan I created a lesson based around it, because I loved the positive, uplifting message. Nice tune, too, for singing along.