Nelson Mandela

"We are all meant to shine, as children do.  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."

— Nelson Mandela

South African President/Anti-Apartheid Activist

1918 -

Do you let your light, your inner strength, shine through your creative work?  Each of us is special and unique.  There is not another person exactly like us in the universe.  We all have things in common, but at some level we are unique and special.  So let that which is you shine.  Don't hide your talent under a bushel basket.  Share it with others.  We each have a responsibility to help the people around us with our creativity and talent.  If we keep our light locked up inside us and hidden from the world, we have failed ourselves and others.

Henri Matisse

"The character of a face in a drawing depends not upon its various proportions, but upon a spiritual light which it reflects."

— Henri Matisse

French Artists

1869 - 1954

Like an artist or a novelist, we all need to see beyond the surface characteristics of the human face.  We need to see the individual person who lives within.  We have been taught not to judge a book by its cover, yet how many times do we still do it.  Inside every person, beyond the hair and the clothes, is something very special.  Sometimes it takes work to find that person because the person has hid himself behind so many masks that he does not even know who he is.  And the same can be said of ourselves.  How many masks would you have to take off before the light within you would shine through?

Edith Wharton

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."

— Edith Wharton

1862 -1937

William Wordsworth

"Come forth into the light of things.  Let nature be your teacher."

— William Wordsworth

1770 - 1850