With the passing of Dr. Maya Angelou last week, I have been
reading and re-reading all the tributes to her and all the quotes that have been
associated with her.
"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."
She was an incredible woman, to say the least. I watched Oprah’s
Legend’s Ball (again) over the weekend and had an unexpected emotional
response. I don’t believe I reacted the
same way in 2005 when it first aired and that may be because so many of the
legends that were honored are now gone.
I was so struck by the genuine sense of love and respect that the women
shared for each other.
"Have enough courage to trust love one more
time and always one more time."
It was refreshing because in today’s world of reality
television and women participating in physical altercations on a regular basis,
it felt good to remember that Black women can actually support, honor and
respect each other.
I’m glad to be in the generation of women who were blessed
to benefit from the wisdom that Dr. Angelou so freely shared. The greatest lesson that I have learned (and
probably always knew) over these past few days is simply that I am enough.
I have insecurities like anyone else but deep down, to my
core, I know that I am enough. I don’t
require approval or validation from anyone.
I am enough. To spend more time
than I should caring about what people who aren’t paying my bills think about
me and wouldn’t approve of me no matter what I did is distracting me from my
purpose.
Strong women like Dr. Angelou, Coretta Scott King, Ruby Dee,
Rosa Parks and countless others set an example and paved the way so women of my
generation could enjoy success of varying degrees.
"Success is liking yourself, liking what you
do, and liking how you do it."
In my opinion, to not
claim that … to not walk in that truth is almost an act of disobedience. I wake up every single morning and the first
thing I do is thank God for allowing me to see another day. It is my goal to make the most of each day
that I am blessed with. To not just struggle
to get through but to enjoy each moment and recognize the days for the gifts
that they are.
"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."
This life is a blessing. We all have a purpose. We owe it to ourselves to fearlessly move forward in that purpose.
"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the
world by the lapels. Life's a b***h. You've got to go out and kick ass."
3 comments:
Excellent!
I love this quote:
"I have insecurities like anyone else but deep down, to my core, I know that I am enough. I don’t require approval or validation from anyone. I am enough. To spend more time than I should caring about what people who aren’t paying my bills think about me and wouldn’t approve of me no matter what I did is distracting me from my purpose."
That is EXCELLENT!!
With all the tomfoolery that goes on on reality television when it comes to black women, it is good to remember that there have been and still are classy black women out here to pattern ourselves after. On purpose.
The quote about how people make you feel that they never forget. I have two high school teachers, both English teachers. One a black lady and one a white lady that both had such an impact on me and how I view myself and what I thought I could achieve. They are both gone on but I always think of them and how they made me feel..
I was deeply saddened by the news of her passing. Mother Maya, as I affectionately called her was a major source of strength, inspiration, and encouragement for me. I have almost all of her books and have also used them during my mentoring sessions. I feel honoured and blessed to have been exposed to Mother Maya!
Post a Comment