βWhen you learn, teach. When you get, give is one of my best lessons from her,” said Oprah Winfrey in remembering Maya.Β “She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace. I loved her and I know she loved me. I will profoundly miss her. She will always be the rainbow in my clouds,” –Β Oprah
Maya Angelou leaves a legacyΒ of love, courage, change and more through her words and her actions.
Maya AngelouΒ was a phenomenal woman who created change and showed many the power of love. Today I am sharing some of my favorite poems and quotes that have inspiredΒ and taught me, startingΒ with her poem Phenomenal Woman.
Β Maya Angelou on Love and Forgiveness
” Love allows us to forgive.”
“Β Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at it destination full of hope”
“You can’t forgive without loving. And I don’t mean sentimentality. I don’t mean mush. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say, ‘I forgive. I’m finished with it.”
“My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return.”
I am grateful to have been loved, to be loved now, and to be able to love, because that liberates. “Love Liberates.”
Maya AngelouΒ on Courage
“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”
“One isnβt born with courage. One develops it.Β And you develop it by doing small, courageous things, in the same way that one wouldnβt set out to pick up 100 pound Β bag of rice. If that was oneβs aim, the person would be advised to pick up a five pound bag, and then a ten pound, and then a 20 pound, and so forth, until one builds up enough muscle to actually pick up 100 pounds. And thatβs the same way with courage.Β You develop courage by doing courageous things, small things, but things that cost you some exertion β mental and, I suppose, spiritual exertion.”
“I am convinced that courage is the most important of all the virtues. Because without courage, you cannot practice any other virtue consistently. You can be kind for a while; you can be generous for a while; you can be just for a while, or merciful for a while, even loving for a while. But it is only with courage that you can be persistently and insistently kind and generous and fair.”
Maya AngelouΒ on Change
Β “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
“The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind.”
βWhat you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain.βΒ
βI can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”
βWe delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.βΒ
Maya AngelouΒ on Life and more…………
βSuccess is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.βΒ
“You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my Β experiences are positive.”
βAsk for what you want and be prepared to get it!
βThe desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.βΒ
Β My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” Β
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something Β back.”
I made the image below as a Love note to share on my facebook wallΒ back 2 weeks ago and had started to make a collection of more quotes from Maya to put with my Heart WhisperΒ and Beach Inspiration imagery. Her wisdom was awesome.
RIPΒ Maya AngelouΒ your love and wisdom touched my life and so many others. You made a real difference in this often very ordinary world, and now you have the peace you so richly earned. Thank you.
You can watchΒ the memorial service which is so moving and empowering here
What isΒ your favorite Maya Angelou quote or poem?
I asked this question yesterday on Facebook and have since discovered new poems and have shared some videos on the page.
I just watched Β one from her son Guy on being Dr Maya Angelou’s son: I grew up in her light.
Listening to the whispers of your heart bringsΒ β₯MoreΒ FUN β₯ More LOVEΒ β₯ More ABUNDANCE β₯Β β₯β₯β
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Suzi,
Thank you so much for this beautiful collection. Maya Angelou truly was a phenomenal woman and left us with such an incredible legacy. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through all of her work that you’ve included here. xxx
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My pleasure Shan she certainly has left a beautiful legacy xx
Suzie Cheel recently posted…Can Waiting Be A Good Thing?
Love it Suzie! She was amazing, and her listening in quietude quote is dead on. God speaks when we’re silent π Thanks!
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Hi Ryan and wonderful to see you here. I just found your comment in the spam π I will add that quote to my collection God speaks when weβre silent
namaste π
Suzie Cheel recently posted… Rainbows: A Symbol of Hope and New Life
Suzie,
I can say this post reflects who you are even though I don’t know you, yet:). Thank you for the images where it facilitates spreading the love.
What an amazing video about love Maya left us. Sharing this post now, how could I not.
Love,
Vitoria
Hi Vitoria,
welcome and you make my heart sing. Yes spreading love is part of my mission
Look forward to seeing you here again and getting to know you
Love Suzie β‘β‘β‘
Suzie Cheel recently posted…Do You Unleash Your Creativity On Your Business?
I look forward to it as well π .
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Twitter: CustomHC
Beautiful article Suzie. These words hits home with me this morning, “I am grateful to have been loved, to be loved now, and to be able to love, because that liberates. βLove Liberates.β it reminds me of a conversation I had with my oldest Son right before he moved.
Thanks for touching my life today.
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Thank you Melissa,
Wonderful to be loved in all ways as you express. I too thought Love liberates was uplifting
β‘β‘β‘
Suzie Cheel recently posted…Do You Unleash Your Creativity On Your Business?
Twitter: jacshenderson
What a beautiful collection Suzie, it’s amazing how many of them are so familiar! This is my favourite:
Iβve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.β
loved hearing Maya read in your video above …
beautiful post π
Jacs
Jacs Henderson recently posted…Are You Tweeting With Tweet Old Post!?
Thanks Jacs your visiting and comments always bring a smile to my heart
thank you β‘β‘β‘
Suzie Cheel recently posted…Do You Unleash Your Creativity On Your Business?
What a lovely tribute Suzie … we all lost someone so very special with Maya Angelo passed away. Fortunately she was such a prolific writer and spokesperson we will have her words to treasure forever. Thank you for this touching post.
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Thank you Marty,
What is magical as you say is that she will live on through her words, thank you for you reaffirming comment
namaste
Suzie Cheel recently posted…Do You Unleash Your Creativity On Your Business?