Maya Angelou Famous Quotes

Maya Angelou Famous Quotes

Do you believe things happen for a reason? Well, over the years, I have come to believe they do. As I was contemplating what to write for today’s Thought Provoking Thursday post, I remembered seeing headlines and brief posts about a writer and poet who passed away yesterday. It dawned on me that this woman’s contributions could be the basis of my post.

Before leaving work today, my office manager showed me a list of quotes she was bringing to a small group study she attends on Thursday nights. Lo and behold, the quotes were all from Dr. Maya Angelou, the woman I had been planning to write about!

maya-angelou

You may be familiar with the book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” the 1969 autobiography of African-American writer and poet, Dr. Maya Angelou. Dr. Angelou passed away yesterday leaving a legacy of a peace. According to her official website, “[s]he lived a life as a teacher, activist, artist and human being. She was a warrior for equality, tolerance and peace.

I have never read any of her writings but after this “things happen for a reason” moment today, I’ll be making a point of exploring her writings soon. I’ll start with these Maya Angelou Famous Quotes which were given to me:

Maya Angelou Famous Quotes

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

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”

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

“I do not trust people who don’t love themselves and yet tell me, ‘I love you.’ There is an African saying which is: Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt.”

Maya Angelou Famous Quotes

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

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

“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.”

“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”

“I’ve learned people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go kick ass.”

“The love of family, the love of the person can heal. It heals the scars left by a larger society. A massive, powerful society.”

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”

“Nothing works unless you do.”

“It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.”

“I have learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.”

Do you find any of these maya angelou famous quotes relevant to you life?  What “things happens for a reason” moments have you experienced recently?