This morning my daughter Anna and I were exchanging quotes through email. Everyday I have a new one delivered to my inbox and sometimes it's one I want to share with all my girls. This is the one I shared with them this morning...

" I try to live what I consider a "poetic existence." That means I take responsibility for the air I breathe and the space I take up. I try to be immediate, to be totally present for all my work." - Maya Angelou. American Poet, b.1928

Here is the marvelous quote Anna sent me in return.

"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 frightens us most. We ask oursleves, 'Who am I to be
brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' 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 people
won't feel insecure around you. 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
all of us. And when 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."
....Used by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech  ¶ 3/28/2006 08:23:00 AM