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Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou Quotes

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Famous Maya Angelou Quotes

“I know, that since life is our most precious gift, and as far as we can be absolutely certain, it's given to us to live but once, let us so live we will not regret years of useless virtue, and inertia, and timidity, and ignorance, and in our last moments we can say: 'All my life, all my conscious energies, have been dedicated to the most noble cause in the world, the liberation of the human mind and spirit - beginning with my own'.”

KnowsWorldYearsMindHumansHas BeensMomentsLastsLife IsSpiritCertainEnergyGivenCausesMy OwnVirtueIgnoranceRegretConsciousNobleLiberationUselessHuman MindDedicatedInertiaTimidityPrecious GiftsNoble Causes
Author:Maya Angelou
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“Creativity or talent, like electricity, is something I don’t understand but something I’m able to harness and use. While electricity remains a mystery, I know I can plug into it and light up a cathedral or a synagogue or an operating room and use it to help save a life. Or I can use it to electrocute someone. Like electricity, creativity makes no judgment. I can use it productively or destructively. The important thing is to use it. You can’t use up creativity. The more you use it, the more you have.”

KnowsI CanImportantHelpingUseLightAbleRoomsCreativityMysteryTalentJudgmentRemainsImportant ThingsElectricityCathedralsLight UpHarnessPlugsSave A LifeSynagogueOperating Room
Author:Maya Angelou
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“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.”

PeopleIfsKnowsKindBeautifulUnderstandingGrowthWalksHellFootballBiggerDown AndDefeatGet UpOver YouShortcomingsUmbrellaKnocked DownCleats
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“Reduce your humanity through what Jules Feiffer called little murders. The minute I hear someone trying to demean me, I know that that person means to have my life. And I will not give it to them. When a person commits these little murders, and then you catch him or her at it, he or she might say, "Oh, I didn't mean it." But make no mistake: It is an assassination attempt.”

KnowsGivingTryingMeanLittlesPersonsMightHumanityMistakeMinutesMurderCommitAssassination
Author:Maya Angelou
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“I believe that a negative statement is poison.I'm convinced that the negative has power. It lives. And if you allow it to perch in your house, in your mind, in your life, it can take you over. So when the rude or cruel thing is said - the lambasting, the gay bashing, the hate - I say, "Take it all out of my house!" Those negative words climb into the woodwork and into the furniture, and the next thing you know they'll be on my skin.”

IfsKnowsMindBelieveSaidHateNextHouseI BelieveGayNegativeSkinsConvincedStatementsPoisonClimbsRudeFurnitureNegative Words
Author:Maya Angelou
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“Among other things, I'm thinking "I'm a child of God." That's amazing. And "I'm not only a child of God, but God loves me." The hardest part for me is to realize that while God loves me, and I am a child of God, I have to see the bigot and the brute and the rapist, and whether he or she knows it or not, I have to know that that person is a child of God. That is part of the responsibility - and it's hard.”

ThinkingKnowsChildrenPersonsHardRealizingResponsibilityHardestGod LoveBrutesChild Of GodBigotsGod Loves Me
Author:Maya Angelou
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“Being thankful helps you to be present.People commit errors because they are not present.I would encourage women and men to be present - you'll avoid falling into certain pits.For instance, if you know that a person has just lost his wife or her husband or lover, it's unlikely that you will say something that will hurt that person's feelings if you're truly paying attention. You'll make a sweeter life for yourself and for those around you if you are present.”

PeopleIfsKnowsMenPersonsHelpingFeelingsCertainFallLostHurtAttentionWifeLoversHusbandMen And WomenErrorsCommitInstancePay AttentionUnlikelyBeing ThankfulPits
Author:Maya Angelou
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“"Baby, you know?" my mother once said to me. "I think you're the greatest woman I've ever met - and I'm not including my mother or Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt in that." She said, "You are very intelligent and you're very kind, and those two qualities do not often go together." Then she went across the street and got in her car, and I went the other way down to the streetcar. I thought, "Suppose she's right. She's intelligent - and she's too mean to lie." You see, a parent has the chance - and maybe the responsibility - to liberate her child. And my mom had liberated me when I was 17.”

ThinkingKnowsWayKindMeanChildrenSaidTwoTogetherLyingMotherParentChanceQualityResponsibilityStreetsCarBabyMomMetsIntelligentIncludingMy MomLiberatedEleanor
Author:Maya Angelou
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“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."”

IfsKnowsMaySaidDoneHomeRememberMotherNightDifferencesMomDaughterLet MeDiedRaisesRaisedMy MomComing HomeHospitalsAbout YourselfLiberatedRemember YouRemembers You
Author:Maya Angelou
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“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.”

KnowsMayStillsFactsSpiritualFailureEmpowermentDeterminationAdversityWho You ArePerseveranceDefeatPersistenceMoving OnEncountersHard TimesHardshipKeep GoingWomen EmpowermentDefeatedStrong WomenPersistBlack WomenDifficult TimesEmpowering WomenBad DayPersevereOvercoming AdversityBeing A WomanPowerful WomenEmpowered WomenWomen Empowering WomenInspirational WomenPerserveranceSuccessful WomenInspirational Strong WomenBeing A Strong WomanDetermination And PersistenceStrong Women And LoveGreat PerseveranceI Am StrongGreat DeterminationPhenomenal WomanStrong InspirationalTough ThingsPersistence InspirationalAdversity In LifeBeing Independent WomanGetting Through Tough TimesStrong Powerful WomenStrength And PerseveranceGoing Gets ToughImages Of Strong WomenBlack Women InspirationalGoing StrongStrong IndependentBlack MotivationalPersonal EmpowermentConfident WomanDefeated YouTough WomenEncouragement For WomenMake People Feel Better
Author:Maya Angelou
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“Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware. And the worst part of my awareness was that I didn't know what I was aware of. I knew I knew very little, but I was certain that the things I had yet to learn wouldn't be taught to me at George Washington High School.”

KnowsLittlesSchoolCertainGoneWorstAwarenessTaughtWillingHigh SchoolIgnorantCagedI Know Why The Caged Bird SingsBeing Ignorant
Book:I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
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“Let's tell the truth to people. When people ask, 'How are you?' have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully. You must know, however, that people will start avaoiding you because, they, too, have knees that pain them and heads that hurt and they don't want to know about yours. But think of it this way: If people avoid you, you will have more time to meditate and do fine research on a cure for whatever truly afflicts you.”

PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsWayWantSometimesPainAsksHurtAnswersHonestyFineResearchSelf WorthCuresKneesTelling The TruthMore TimeNerves
Book:Letter to My Daughter
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