Maya angelou quotes

Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.

You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been.

Dare to let your dreams reach beyond you...

I'm a feminist. I've been a female for a long time now. It'd be stupid not to be on my own side.

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.

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.

Live as though life was created for you.

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don't be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning 'Good morning' at total strangers.

A leader sees greatness in other people. He nor she can be much of a leader if all she sees is herself.

Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art.

I'm not sure if resilience is ever achieved alone. Experience allows us to learn from example. But if we have someone who loves us-I don't mean who indulges us, but who loves us enough to be on our side-then it's easier to grow resilience, to grow belief in self, to grow self-esteem. And it's self-esteem that allows a person to stand up.

Continue. Be loving and be strong. Be fierce and be kind. And don't give in and don't give up.'

Lord keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth.

All great acheivements require time.

If you must look back, do so forgivingly. If you will look forward, do so prayerfully. But the wisest course would be to be present in the present gratefully.

Forgiveness. It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody. You are relieved of carrying that burden of resentment. You really are lighter. You feel lighter. You just drop that.

You think you may not be heard. Speak anyway.

What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks ‘the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat,’.... And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.

I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.

You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.

Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.

My mother had said me, "All right, you've been raised, so don't let anybody else raise you. You know the difference between right and wrong. Do right. And remember - you can always come home." And she continued to liberate me until she died. On the night she died, I went to the hospital. I told my mom, "Let me tell you about yourself. You deserved a great daughter, and you got one. And you liberated me to be one. So if it's time for you to go, you may have done everything God brought you here to do."

Precious jewel, you glow, you shine, reflecting all the good things in the world. Just look at yourself.

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.

My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.

You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.

Remember, people will judge you by your actions not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold but so does a hard-boiled egg.

The happy heart runs with the river, floats on the air, lifts to the music, soars with the eagle, hopes with the prayer.

I would like to be known as an intelligent woman, a courageous woman, a loving woman, a woman who teaches by being.

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That's why it's important to stop expecting them to be something other than who they are

Success is loving life and daring to live it.

I come as one, but stand as 10,000.

People don't always remember what you say or even what you do, but they always remember how you make them feel.

If you're going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can't be erased.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill, of things unknown, but longed for still, and his tune is heard on the distant hill, for the caged bird sings of freedom.

A wise woman wishes to be no one's enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone's victim.

The question is not how to survive, but how to thrive with passion, compassion, humor and style.

It is only out of ignorance that people are cruel, because they really don't think it will come back.

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

Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity.

You have to have courage to love somebody. Because you risk everything. Everything.

Each of us has that right, that possibility, to invent ourselves daily. If a person does not invent herself, she will be invented. So, to be bodacious enough to invent ourselves is wise.

Laugh and dare to try to love somebody, starting with yourself. You must love yourself first, of course, and you must protect yourself so that nobody overrides you, overrules you, or steps on you. Just say, 'Just a minute. I'm worth everything, dear.'

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.

Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.

I refuse to allow any man-made differences to separate me from any other human beings.

I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

A joyful spirit is evidence of a grateful heart.

At the end of the day people won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.

We must be warriors in the struggle against ignorance

No sun outlasts its sunset, but will rise again and bring the dawn.

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud. Do not complain. Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution.

I think when we don't know what to do it's wise to do nothing. Sit down quietly; quiet our hearts and minds and breathe deeply.

Give yourself time just to be with yourself.

Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin. We can illuminate our paths or darken our way. It is a matter of choice.

Having courage does not mean that we are unafraid. Having courage and showing courage mean we face our fears. We are able to say, 'I have fallen, but I will get up.'

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!

You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!

Every journey begins with a single step.

Nothing will work unless you do.

Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay.

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.

Love life. Engage in it. Give it all you've got. Love it with a passion because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it.

When I say 'I am a Christian', I'm not shouting 'I'm saved'. I'm whispering 'I get lost'. That is why I chose this way.

Just like moons and suns, With certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise.

Every day I awaken I am grateful. My intent is to be totally present in that day. And laugh as much as possible.

You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.

Happiness is a chance to talk to a friend, to hear good music, to have a good glass of wine. Happiness is a chance to be myself and to find people with whom I agree or who I don't agree but I can learn something.

I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life'.

Its not where your dreams take you, its where you take your dreams.

The most called-upon prerequisite of a friend is an accessible ear.

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

You don't need another person, place or thing to make you whole. God already did that. Your job is to know it.

Stand up straight and realize who you are, that you tower over your circumstances. You are a child of God. Stand up straight.

In order to be a mentor, and an effective one, one must care. You must care. You don't have to know how many square miles are in Idaho, you don't need to know what is the chemical makeup of chemistry, or of blood or water. Know what you know and care about the person, care about what you know and care about the person you're sharing with.

Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.

If I could give you one thought, it would be to lift someone up. Lift a stranger up--lift her up. I would ask you, mother and father, brother and sister, lovers, mother and daughter, father and son, lift someone. The very idea of lifting someone up will lift you, as well.

If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.

When you do nothing you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.

Without defeats, how do you really know who the hell you are? If you never had to stand up to something - to get up, to be knocked down, and to get up again - life can walk over you wearing football cleats. But each time you do get up, you're bigger, taller, finer, more beautiful, more kind, more understanding, more loving. Each time you get up, you're more inclusive. More people can stand under your umbrella.

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

A Woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself and only herself

Each of us, famous or infamous, is a role model for somebody, and if we aren't, we should behave as though we are -- cheerful, kind, loving, courteous. Because you can be sure someone is watching and taking deliberate and diligent notes.

Laugh as often as possible. You must. Because the world will offer you every reason to weep. So as often as possible, you laugh. That, I think, is part of the Great Love.

You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. Please remember that your difficulties do not define you. They simply strengthen your ability to overcome.

You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.

Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.

Just do right. Right may not be expedient, it may not be profitable, but it will satisfy your soul. It brings you the kind of protection that bodyguards can’t give you. So try to live your life in a way that you will not regret years of useless virtue and inertia and timidity. Take up the battle. Take it up. It’s yours. This is your life. This is your world.

When you know you are of worth, you don't have to raise your voice, you don't have to become rude, you don't have to become vulgar; you just are. And you are like the sky is, as the air is, the same way water is wet. It doesn't have to protest.

Live life as if it were created just for you.

Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.

I believe that the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare.

I work very hard, and I play very hard. I'm grateful for life. And I live it - I believe life loves the liver of it. I live it.

When we decide to be happy we accept the responsibility to bring happiness to someone else. Some decide that happiness and glee are the same thing, they are not. When we choose happiness we accept the responsibility to lighten the load of someone else and to be a light on the path to another who may be walking in darkness.

Each one of us has lived through some devastation, some loneliness, some weather superstorm or spiritual superstorm, when we look at each other we must say, I understand. I understand how you feel because I have been there myself. We must support each other and empathize with each other because each of us is more alike than we are unalike.

We are here to love each other. That is why you are alive. That is what life is for.

We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.

This is a wonderful day, I have never seen this one before.

If you are going down a road and don't like what's in front of you, and look behind you and don't like what you see, get off the road. Create a new path!

I’m grateful for being here, for being able to think, for being able to see, for being able to taste, for appreciating love – for knowing that it exists in a world so rife with vulgarity, with brutality and violence, and yet love exists. I’m grateful to know that it exists.

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

We need Joy as we need air. We need Love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.

Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.

The best candy shop a child can be left alone in, is the library

Take a day to heal from the lies you've told yourself and the ones that have been told to you.

The area where we are the greatest is the area in which we inspire, encourage and connect with another human being.

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

Open your eyes to the beauty around you, open your mind to the wonders of life, open your heart to those who love you, and always be true to yourself.

You will face many defeats in your life, but never let yourself be defeated.

When you learn, teach, when you get, give.

Hope for the best, be prepared for the worse. Life is shocking, but you must never appear to be shocked. For no matter how bad it is it could be worse and no matter how good it is it could be better.

When you wish someone joy, you wish them peace, love, prosperity, happiness... all the good things.

I am not competing with anyone other than myself. I want to be excellent at whatever I do.

You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the object of its displeasure. So use that anger. You write it. You paint it. You dance it. You march it. You vote it. You do everything about it. You talk it. Never stop talking it.

We cannot change the past, but we can change our attitude toward it. Uproot guilt and plant forgiveness. Tear out arrogance and seed humility. Exchange love for hate - thereby, making the present comfortable and the future promising.

Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.

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.

A person is the product of their dreams. So make sure to dream great dreams. And then try to live your dream.

Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else.

I was told many years ago by my grandmother who raised me: If somebody puts you on a road and you don't feel comfortable on it and you look ahead and you don't like the destination and you look behind and you don't want to return to that place, step off the road.