“I’m learning that I deserve to take up space,” said one team member at our yearly planning meeting. 

“There’s an abundance of it,” said another in keeping with something each of us found ourselves recognizing- the contrast between abundance and scarcity mindset– in 2022. 

“I find that when I give permission to take up space, I’m better at making space and giving space to others,” said yet another member of the team. 

And later when a meeting notice went out to the whole team at a time that wasn’t the best for one team member, our discussion had given her the permission to say, “I’m going to take up space here, and say this doesn’t work best for me,” then she suggested another time where she knew she and the rest of our team would be best to work together on the subject of the meeting.   She knew herself and all of us well enough to know that a Thursday morning would be much better than a Friday afternoon for all of us to think creatively. 

As we thought about what our theme would be for 2023, we realized the continuity of a word that kept coming up last year, “abundance” and a new one that seemed to be surfacing this year, of “space”.    

And I found nothing better that illustrates what we mean by this than the poem “Our Deepest Fear” by Marianne Williamson that is reflected so well in the movie Coach Carter. 

I hope you’ll take a minute to watch it.  It explains what we mean by this year’s theme so much better than I can. We at Horizon Point hope that this year you will take up space and share space with others, because there is an abundance of it. 

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’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”