Maya Angelou: A Beacon of Truth and Courage

I had different plans for my writing time today, but when I heard of Maya Angelou’s death I was drawn like a coin to a magnet into a whirlwind of emotion. I cannot let the day go by without honoring her in some way and so it is I put pen to paper, the one place where my words sound most authentic to me, where I can speak from my heart, like I witnessed her do so many times. I knew she knew that place of purity and honesty. It’s why her words were so powerful. Truth is power.  She always reminded me of the importance of truth.

I honor her for the courage it surely took to rise above her life circumstances and speak clearly and without hesitation – something I struggle mightily to do. The world is a cruel and vicious place and yet, when we dig down deep and find the truth, we find love. We find joy. We find beauty. We find peace. In the end, that’s all that matters, but it takes courage to go to that place.  She always reminded me of courage.

Ms. Angelou’s words will live on. They will rise up and commingle with the words of so many other truth seekers and truth speakers to live on in the pulsing heartbeat of the world and in the single heartbeat of each human being who lets the light live in their hearts. I honor her for being a living, breathing example of how this can be done and for shining a light on the creative force that lives within each and every one of us.  She spoke to the truth in all of us…she lived with the courage that lives in all of us. Let us who continue to live, live in honor of her journey by leaning into our own truth and living it with courage.

 

Just a few of Maya Angelou’s most popular quotes:

 

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.”

Maya Angelou

 

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”  Maya Angelou

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”  Maya Angelou

 

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”

Maya Angelou

 

“The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.”  Maya Angelou

 

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.” Maya Angelou

 

“If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?”  Maya Angelou

 

“Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation,

which is not nurturing to the whole woman.”
Maya Angelou

 

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”
Maya Angelou

 

“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”
Maya Angelou