Maya Angelou A Phenomenal Woman

‘When you learn, teach. When you get, give is one of my best lessons from her,” said Oprah Winfrey in remembering Maya. “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,” – Oprah

Maya Angelou leaves a legacy of love, courage, change and more through her words and her actions.

Maya Angelou 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 inspired and taught me, starting with her poem Phenomenal Woman.

 Maya Angelou on Love and Forgiveness

” Love allows us to forgive.”

“ 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 Angelou 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 isn’t born with courage. One develops it. And you develop it by doing small, courageous things, in the same way that one wouldn’t set out to pick up 100 pound  bag of rice. If that was one’s 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 that’s the same way with courage. You develop courage by doing courageous things, small things, but things that cost you some exertion – 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 Angelou on Change

 “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.”

“What 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.” 

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

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” 

Maya Angelou on Life and more…………

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

“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.”

“Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it!

“The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.” 

 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.”  

“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  back.”

I made the image below as a Love note to share on my facebook wall back 2 weeks ago and had started to make a collection of more quotes from Maya to put with my Heart Whisper and Beach Inspiration imagery. Her wisdom was awesome.

RIP Maya Angelou 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 watch the memorial service which is so moving and empowering here

What is 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  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 brings ♥More FUN ♥ More LOVE ♥ More ABUNDANCE ♥ ♥♥”