My Favourite Quotes #2

As a teenager I was a big fish in a small pond. I don't mean that I was popular - far from it. I was, however, academic, so the teachers loved me. They even overlooked my blatant disregard for the school uniform policy ("no, no Sir, this skirt is definitely only 2 inches above the knee!") As a teenager I thought that I'd always be free to be who I wanted to be but as soon as adulthood hit I realised that sometimes people just don't "get" me and no matter how hard I pretended not to care, it was always a little bit saddening to learn that someone didn't appreciate my unique sense of humour (it's so dry that it makes the Atacama Desert look like Niagara falls).

That's why I find this quote from Marianne Williamson (a new-age self-help guru) so inspiring:

"There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you."

In short I think it means that if you're good at something then don't hide it. Learn to love what you are good at and appreciate all that you have to offer - don't sit back and let life pass you by because you're afraid that other people will feel insignificant. Of course this comes with a side warning - don't forget to be thankful!

How would you interpret this quote? Do you think that we should all be more assertive or are there occasions when we really should sit back for fear of offending or upsetting others?

Related: My Favourite Quotes #1