By Jordan Swain
Early this morning, a beautiful spirit passed. Dr. Maya Angelou, one of our greatest literary and artistic minds, has forever departed this planet but her creative genius lives on. As civil rights activist and US Poet Laureate, Angelou left volumes of her work, her vision and her unique expression for posterity. Maya's wise words are not only printed onto the pages of millions of books sold internationally, but they are also delicately painted into memories held preciously in our minds. Her artistic endeavors in literature and poetry have garnered Dr. Angelou a Pulitzer Prize nomination for her 1971 volume of poetry, “Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie”. She was also nominated for a Tony Award with her role in the 1973 play "Look Away," and three Grammy awards for her spoken-word albums. Additionally, Maya Angelou has been honored by various organizations and businesses around the world. She holds over 25 honorary degrees due to her 'phenomenal' legacy.
Below are 30 quotes of inspiration from Dr. 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'm convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere. For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they're stones that don't matter. As long as you're breathing, it's never too late to do some good.” Maya Angelou
“What is a fear of living? It's being preeminently afraid of dying. It is not doing what you came here to do, out of timidity and spinelessness. The antidote is to take full responsibility for yourself - for the time you take up and the space you occupy. If you don't know what you're here to do, then just do some good.” Maya Angelou
“Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.” Maya Angelou
“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” Maya Angelou
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.” Maya Angelou
“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” Maya Angelou
“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” -- Maya Angelou
“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.'” Maya Angelou
“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
“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.” Angelou
“My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors.” Maya Angelou
“While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God's creation.” Maya Angelou
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” Maya Angelou
“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.” Maya Angelou
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Maya Angelou
“All great achievements require time.” Maya Angelou
“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 back.” Maya Angelou
“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” Maya Angelou
“Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.” Maya Angelou
“Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.” Maya Angelou
“I'm grateful to intelligent people. That doesn't mean educated. That doesn't mean intellectual. I mean really intelligent. What black old people used to call 'mother wit' means intelligence that you had in your mother's womb. That's what you rely on. You know what's right to do.” Maya Angelou
“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 experiences are positive.” Maya Angelou
“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.” Maya Angelou
“A wise woman wishes to be no one's enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone's victim.” Maya Angelou
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