Maya Angelou was a remarkable writer, poet, and civil rights activist whose words continue to inspire and empower people around the world. Her wisdom and insight touched countless lives, and her quotes are a testament to her strength and resilience. From words of encouragement to messages of love and self-acceptance, Maya Angelou’s quotes remind us of the power of our own voices and the importance of embracing our uniqueness. Through her eloquent words, she reminds us to rise above adversity and to always strive for greatness. Maya Angelou’s quotes serve as a guiding light, reminding us to be courageous, compassionate, and to never give up on our dreams.
Maya Angelou Quotes
‘“If you happen to fall in love with someone in another race, it’s more difficult, because you have to translate yourself.”’
‘“In order to win, we pay with energy and effort and discipline. If we lose, we pay in disappointment, discontent, and lack of fulfillment.”’
‘“The loss of young first love is so painful that it borders on the ludicrous.”’
‘“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.”’
‘“We all have that possibility, that potential and that promise of seeing beyond the seeming.”’
‘“Tragedy, no matter how sad, becomes boring to those not caught in its addictive caress.”’
‘ “Love heals. Heals and liberates. I use the word love, not meaning sentimentality, but a condition so strong that it may be that which holds the stars in their heavenly positions and that which causes the blood to flow orderly in our veins.”’
‘“It’s very important to know the neighbor next door and the people down the street and the people in another race.”’
‘“A person is the product of their dreams. So make sure to dream great dreams. And then try to live your dream.”’
‘“My work is to be honest. My work is to try to think clearly, then have the courage to make sure that what I say is the truth.”’
‘“Everyone grows old but not everyone grows up.”’
‘“Life is a gift, and i try to respond with grace and courtesy.”’
‘“Age is nothing; waking up is everything.”’
‘“When we find someone who is brave, fun, intelligent, and loving, we have to thank the universe.”’
‘“A mother’s love liberates.”’
‘“Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. We need hours of aimless wandering or spates of time sitting on park benches, observing the mysterious world of ants and the canopy of treetops.”’
‘“If you have, give. If you learn, teach.”’
‘“The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.”’
‘“Being a woman is hard work.”’
‘“Only equals make friends, every other relationship is contrived and off balance.”’
‘“Forgive yourself – no one else will.”’
‘“Alone, all alone Nobody, but nobody Can make it out here alone.”’
‘“Hope is born again in the faces of children.”’
‘“No one comes from the earth like grass. We come like trees. We all have roots.”’
‘“We are all human; therefore, nothing human can be alien to us.”’
‘“I believe that every person is born with talent.”’
‘“We need much less than we think we need.”’
‘“My son is the best thing that ever happened to me. And through me – to a lot of people.”’
‘“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.”’
‘ “Its not where your dreams take you, its where you take your dreams.”’
‘“Love is many things. It is varied. One thing love is not, is unsure.”’
‘“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.”’
‘“The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free.”’
‘“Poetry is music written for the human voice.”’
‘“Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God.”’
‘“Don’t bring negative to my door.”’
‘“The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.”’
‘“If it is true that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, isn’t it also true a society is only as healthy as its sickest citizen and only as wealthy as its most deprived?”’
‘“God puts rainbows in the clouds so that each of us – in the dreariest and most dreaded moments – can see a possibility of hope.”’
Maya Angelou Sayings
‘“Lord keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth.”’
‘“I’ve got a magic charm That I keep up my sleeve, I can walk the ocean floor And never have to breathe.”’
‘“Love liberates; it doesn’t bind.”’
‘“Life sometimes gives you a second chance.”’
‘“I have a son, who is my heart. A wonderful young man, daring and loving and strong and kind.”’
‘“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!”’
‘“Thank you, always say thank you; it’s the greatest gift you can give someone; because thank you is what you say to God.”’
‘“We can learn to see each other and see ourselves in each other and recognize that human beings are more alike than we are unalike.”’
‘“I believe most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise.”’
‘“A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.”’
‘“Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise.”’
‘“Seek patience and passion in equal amounts. Patience alone will not build the temple. Passion alone will destroy its walls.”’
‘“When women take care of their health they become their own best friend.”’
‘“Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives.”’
‘“The horizon leans forward, offering you space to place new steps of change.”’
‘“Whining is not only graceless, but can be dangerous. It can alert a brute that a victim is in the neighborhood.”’
‘I am the dream and the hope of the slave.”’
‘“Difficult is a far cry from impossible. The distance between these two lies hope. Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Invite one to stay.”’
‘“People will never forget how you made them feel.”’
‘“Stand up straight and realize who you are, that you tower over your circumstances. You are a child of God. Stand up straight.”’
‘“It is this belief in a power larger than myself and other than myself which allows me to venture into the unknown and even the unknowable.”’
‘“At our best, we are all teachers.”’
‘“Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.”’
‘“While one may encounter many defeats, one must not be defeated.”’
‘“The main thing in one’s own private world is to try to laugh as much as you cry.”’
‘“We are more alike than unalike.”’
Maya Angelou Phrases
‘“A great soul serves everyone all the time. A great soul never dies. It brings us together again and again.”’
‘“There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.”’
‘“There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure truth.”’
‘“Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else.”’
‘“Poetry puts starch in your backbone so you can stand, so you can compose your life.”’
‘“Some people cannot see a good thing when it is right here, right now. Others can sense a good thing coming when it is days, months, or miles away.”’
‘“Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.”’
‘“We are only as blind as we want to be.”’
‘“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.”’
‘“Don’t let the man bring you down.”’
‘“A woman who is convinced that she deserves to accept only the best challenges herself to give the best. Then she is living phenomenally.”’
‘“Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.”’
‘“Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.”’,
‘“Freedom is never free.”’
‘“The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don’t know my story…”’
‘ “Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time.”’
‘“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.”’
‘“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”’
‘“If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.”’
‘“Bitterness is like cancer. It eats.”’
‘“The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind.”’
‘“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh.”’
‘“To those who are given much, much is expected.”’
‘“I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.”’
‘“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”’
‘“I want to thank you, Lord, for life and all that’s in it. Thank you for the day and for the hour, and the minute.”’
‘“If you have only one smile in you give it to the people you love.”’
‘“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still like dust, I’ll rise.”’
‘“In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.”’
‘“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”’
‘“If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?”’
‘“Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances.”’
Maya Angelou Quotation
‘“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.”’
‘“A woman’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.”’
‘“Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you can wait.”’
‘“You will face many defeats in your life, but never let yourself be defeated.”’
‘“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”’
‘ “The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”’
‘“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”’
‘“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.”’
‘“This is a wonderful day, I have never seen this one before.”’
‘“Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant.”’
‘“Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay.”’
‘“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”’
‘“Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.”’
‘“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”’
‘“No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.”’
‘ “Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.”’
‘“Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.”’
‘ “Be present in all things and thankful for all things.”’
‘ “When you learn, teach, when you get, give.”’
‘“Every journey begins with a single step.”’
‘“You only are free when you realize you belong no place – you belong every place – no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.”’
‘“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!”’
‘“If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.”’
‘“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.”’
‘“I am a Woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal Woman, that’s me.”’
‘“There is a very fine line between loving life and being greedy for it.”’
‘“I come as one, but stand as 10,000.”’
‘ “As a nurse, we have the opportunity to heal the heart, mind, soul and body of our patients, their families and ourselves. They may not remember your name but they will never forget the way you made them feel.”’
‘“First best is falling in love. Second best is being in love. Least best is falling out of love. But any of it is better than never having been in love.”’
‘“I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.”’
‘“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”’
‘“Making a living is not the same thing as making a life.”’
‘“If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.”’
‘“But still, like air, I’ll rise.”’
‘ “As soon as healing takes place, go out and heal somebody else.”’
‘“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.”’
‘“Still I’ll rise.”’
‘“When you know better you do better.”’
‘“You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been.”’
‘ “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.”’
‘“The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.”’
‘“Success is loving life and daring to live it.”’
‘“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.”’
‘“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.”’
‘“Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it.”’
‘“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”’
‘“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”’
‘“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”’
‘“Live as though life was created for you.”’
‘“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”’
‘“When someone shows you who they are believe them; the first time.”’
‘“Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.”’
‘“Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.”’
‘“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.”’
‘“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”’
‘“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”’
‘“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”’
‘“All great achievements require time.”’
‘“Nothing will work unless you do.”’
Best Lawmen: Bass Reeves Quotes
The post Words of Wisdom: The Best 150 Maya Angelou Quotes appeared first on NSF News and Magazine.