Akeelah and the Bee (2006) was written and directed by Doug Atchison. It tells the story of Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer), an 11-year-old girl who participates in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, her mother Angela Bassett, her schoolmates, and her coach, Dr. Joshua Larabee (Laurence Fishburne).
Our Deepest Fear – Akeelah and the Bee
The movie attributes the quote to Nelson Mandela, but it’s actually adapted from a passage written by Marianne Williamson from her book A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles.
Our Deepest Fear
by
Marianne Williamson
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’s 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
