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What is your deepest fear?

In Marianne Williamson's poem "Our Deepest Fear," she teaches us, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."

How many of us wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and see an image that is powerful beyond measure? And if you don't, why not?

We live i n a world where our government has called for a $700 billion corporate bailout, banks are going bankrupt and gas prices have spiked at almost $5 a gallon. Now, fear may run a bit deeper than that image in the mirror, and as the days go by it may be increasingly difficult to feel powerful. Yet daily we are faced with the task of finding bravery and facing our fears. It's ironic how daily we wear the mask that lies and grins. How we hide our true selves, afraid of not being accepted by society, in fear of losing our jobs and not being able to support a family or stay afloat in today's economy.

I think I am afraid of poverty, so every day I strive to be one step ahead of the game, one pay check ahead of the bill collector balancing fear and frustration with hope and hard work. But I know it weighs on me, and it won't let me rest. I can feel it pulsing in my chest, mimicking my heartbeat so I won't notice it hiding there. I can't seem to shake it or turn it off. It follows me on and off stage, on and off paper and back and forth to work, even lingers in my leisure time. It's heavy but masks itself as my own weight. It's clever and cunning, witty and resourceful.

Williamson says, "It's our light not our darkness that most frightens us." She asks, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually who are you not to be?"

So, as All Hallows Eve approaches, I take that thought and craft my costume in secrecy so maybe fear won't recognize me. In this space, time has no value; it just marches in place staring at me, chanting, "Are you ready?" With my back long and my shoulders wide, my pride won't let me fail. I tell myself I must prevail. For fear will leave you nothing for yourself. It will devour the very air you breathe, leaving you breathless if you allow it. So, I am racing to get every stitch perfect to mask my identity to allow myself one night of freedom from this legacy. But Williamson's words "There is nothing enlightened about shrinking" ring in my head. There is no freedom in lies and deception. Our light must be allowed to shine bright. "It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone."

Behind every mask and in every mirror reflection, you can find it if you look long enough and deep enough. It's there just waiting to be recognized and appreciated. "As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Fear fears liberation and confrontation, love and peace, strength, passion and purpose -- the very things that make us who we are, the very thing that makes us strong, that makes us human. We are consumed by these things even more than fear itself. We are powerful beyond measure, and even in the face of a trying economy and daily tragedies, the war for our sanity, we stand tall, unafraid. We are perfectly capable of dusting ourselves off and starting again.

This is the message that we must transcend, that now we are connecting to courage. We are reconnecting the link that has been severed and allowed our masks to prevail. We will be strong. We will be confident. We will be brave, and we will no longer allow our fear to get the best of us.

Josephus Thompson III is a poet, activist and educator in the Triad. His column runs once a month. Contact him at Josephus@mentalityenterprises.com.