Inspiration from Maya Angelou

Today we’re going to spend some time with the incomparable Maya Angelou.

I’ve long been a fan of Maya Angelou, the great American poet, memoir writer and civil rights activist. Her book, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, it’s very special.

Alongside her many gifts, she also left us some thought-provoking and inspiring quotes. I’d like to share some of them with you today.

Here are five of my favourites.

“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.”
One of her most famous quotes and so true. Something I try hard to remember and put into practice. In all our interactions, how did we make the person feel? Did we offer a warm smile at the checkout? Some kind words to a neighbour? Thanks to the server at our restaurant? How did you make the last person you spoke to feel? 

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
This reminds me of the advice from Viktor Frankl, who survived the holocaust. We cannot always change things but we have full power over how we respond to a situation. This is one of the most crucial lessons we must learn if we are to enjoy our life to the full.

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” 
For our wellbeing, we now know how important it is to share what is inside our minds and hearts. It can be life-changing and life-saving. This doesn’t have to be to another person. We don’t have to reveal our inner selves to someone else to get healing. Use a journal. Write down all your feelings, your story, things you want to say. It will help. (My article Write Out Your Pain explores this even more – click the button at the bottom of the page.)

“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.”
This is a very sobering thought. We sometimes forget that everything we take in affects and forms us. It makes us who we are. How important it is to spend time with life affirming things and people who have positive values and want to encourage and build us up, not tear us down.

“I have great respect for the past. If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going. I have respect for the past, but I’m a person of the moment. I’m here, and I do my best to be completely centered at the place I’m at, then I go forward to the next place.”
The ongoing value of Mindfulness is showing us the value of living in this moment and cherishing it. As Maya says, there is also value in the past and looking to the future. I created a fridge magnet to explain how I feel on this. I’ve added it below.

I hope you’ve enjoyed those quotes from Maya Angelou and the little chat on each of them. Maya Angelou was a truly inspirational person.