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“The stars do not compete to shine the brightest; they simply exist in their own time and space, each contributing to the vast beauty of the night sky. In the same way, our worth is not measured by comparison but by the light we bring in our own unique way.”

Last update Sept. 26, 2026. History

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“And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) President of South Africa, anti-apartheid activist

“Our civilization has fallen out of touch with night. With lights, we drive the holiness and beauty of night back to the forests and the sea; the little villages, the crossroads even, will have none of it. Are modern folk, perhaps, afraid of night? Do they fear that vast serenity, the mystery of infinite space, the austerity of stars?”

Henry Beston book Northern Farm

Source: Northern Farm

“Again, your being is never annihilated, but continues to develop its own existence in other ways. A portion of you has lived many lives upon this planet, but the "you" that you know is freshly here, and will never again encounter space and time in precisely the same way. The same applies to each life lived either before or after. Biologically you rest upon a heritage, however, and psychically the same applies. The soul, or this greater personage, does not simply send out an old self in new clothes time and time again, but each time a new, freshly-minted self that then develops and goes its own way. That self rides firmly, however, in the great flight of experience, and feels within itself all of those other fully unique versions that also fling their way into existence.”

Jane Roberts (1929–1984) American Writer

Session 724, p. 492
The “Unknown” Reality: Volume Two, (1979)

“But as we do not light up our houses with our brightest lamps for all comers, so neither did she emit from her eyes their brightest sparks till special occasions for such shining had arisen.”

Anthony Trollope book The Prime Minister

Source: The Prime Minister (1876), Ch. 5

“I'll have my way, in my own time / I'll have my say, my star will shine.”

Noel Gallagher (1967) British musician

Magic Pie
Be Here Now (1997)

“However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.”

Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999) American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor

Interviewed by Eric Nordern, Playboy (September 1968); later published in Stanley Kubrick: Interviews (2001) http://books.google.com/books?id=iOU9bIlnPHIC&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=however+vast+darkness+supply+light&source=web&ots=WSx0cc_E1n&sig=OMT0-SOVCFtSN8a1WosgIR1PMWA <br class="br">Context: The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death — however mutable man may be able to make them — our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.

“we must bring
our own light
to the
darkness.”

Charles Bukowski (1920–1994) American writer

“Life will undertake to separate us, and we must each set off in search of our own path, our own destiny or our own way of facing death.”

Paulo Coelho book Manuscript Found in Accra

Source: Manuscript Found in Accra

“It is in the dark times that the light of friendship shines brightest.”

Richard Paul Evans (1962) American writer

Source: The Walk

“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, and 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 will not 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 is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Marianne Williamson (1952) American writer

Source: A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles" (1992), Ch. 7 : Work, §3 : Personal Power, p. 190 (p. 165 in some editions). This famous passage from her book is very often erroneously attributed to Nelson Mandela. About the mis-attribution Williamson said, "Several years ago, this paragraph from A Return to Love began popping up everywhere, attributed to Nelson Mandela's 1994 inaugural address. As honored as I would be had President Mandela quoted my words, indeed he did not. I have no idea where that story came from, but I am gratified that the paragraph has come to mean so much to so many people."

Variant which appears in the film Coach Carter (2005): "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. 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. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Variant which appears in the film Akeelah and the Bee (2006), displayed in a picture frame on the wall, attributing it to Mandela: "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."

“The stars do not compete to shine the brightest; they simply exist in their own time and space, each contributing to the vast beauty of the night sky. In the same way, our worth is not measured by comparison but by the light we bring in our own unique way.”

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