Background Image
...
Most People Don't Grow Up. It's Too Damn Difficult. What Happens Is Most People Get Older.
-Maya Angelou
...
Please Wait....
Translating....

Most People Don't Grow

Maya Angelou
...
Most People Don't Grow Up. It's Too Damn Difficult. What Happens Is Most People Get Older.

Understanding the Quote: "most people don't grow up. it's too damn difficult. what happens is..."

This quote by Maya Angelou reflects deeply on the theme of growing up. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Growing Up, People, Damn, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Maya Angelou interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou is celebrated for insightful thoughts on growing up and people. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

Views: 22991
Topic
Growing Up
People
Damn
More From Maya Angelou
Look What You've Already Come Through! Don't Deny It. Say I'm Stronger Than I Thought I Was
Stronger
Looks
Aging
A Joyful Spirit Is Evidence Of A Grateful Heart.
Grateful
Heart
Spirit
The Dread Of Futility Has Been My Life-long Plague.
Life
Long
Futility
The First Thing I Do In The Morning When I Awaken Is Say, 'thank You, Lord!' I'm Grateful To Be Alive, And I'm Going To Try To Tell The Truth As Well As I Know And Tell It As Eloquently As I Can So That People Can Hear It.
Inspiring
Morning
Grateful
Without Courage You Cannot Practice Any Of The Other Virtues.
Practice
Acorns
Virtue
My Heart Is So Heavy When I See The Reality Of The Indian Reservation And As An American, I Know I Am, Too, Responsible.
Heart
Reality
Responsible
How Important It Is For Us To Recognize And Celebrate Our Heroes And She-roes!
Strong Women
Veterans Day
Courage
One Must Learn To Care For Oneself First, So That One Can Then Dare To Care For Someone Else.
Care
Firsts
Dare
Does My Sexiness Upset You? Does It Come As A Surprise That I Dance Like I've Got Diamonds At The Meeting Of My Thighs?
Life
Dance
Upset
Love Liberates. It Doesn't Just Hold - That's Ego. Love Liberates. It Doesn't Bind.
Everybody Born Comes From The Creator Trailing Wisps Of Glory. We Come From The Creator With Creativity. I Think That Each One Of Us Is Born With Creativity.
Creativity
Thinking
Glory
All Great Achievements Require Time.
Success
Encouraging
Patience
Have Enough Courage To Trust Love One More Time And Always One More Time.
Love
Inspirational
Inspiring
A Rose By Any Other Name May Smell As Sweet, But A Woman Called By A Devaluing Name Will Only Be Weakened By The Misnomer.
Sweet
Names
Smell
I Am Grateful To Have Been Loved And To Be Loved Now And To Be Able To Love, Because That Liberates. Love Liberates. It Doesn't Just Hold - That's Ego. Love Liberates. It Doesn't Bind. Love Says, 'i Love You. I Love You If You're In China. I Love You If You're Across Town. I Love You If You're In Harlem. I Love You. I Would Like To Be Near You. I'd Like To Have Your Arms Around Me. I'd Like To Hear Your Voice In My Ear. But That's Not Possible Now, So I Love You. Go.'
Inspiring
Love You
Grateful
I Had Read A Tale Of Two Cities And Found It Up To My Standards As A Romantic Novel. She Opened The First Page And I Heard Poetry For The First Time In My Life...her Voice Slid In And Curved Down Trough And Over The Words. She Was Nearly Singing.
Life
Cities
Two
Today, The First & Last Of Every Tree/ Speaks To Humankind. Come To Me, Here Beside The River.
Rivers
Tree
Today
Each Time I Write A Book, Every Time I Face That Yellow Pad, The Challenge Is So Great. I Have Written Eleven Books, But Each Time I Think, ‘uh Oh, They’re Going To Find Out Now. I’ve Run A Game On Everybody And They’re Going To Find Me Out.
Inspiring
Running
Book
Try To Be All You Can Be To Be The Best Human Being You Can Be. Try To Be That In Your Church, In Your Temple. Try To Be That In Your Classroom. Do It Because It Is Right To Do.
Church
Trying
Temples
Each Child Belongs To All Of Us And They Will Bring Us A Tomorrow In Direct Relation To The Responsibility We Have Shown To Them.
Children
Responsibility
Tomorrow
Self-pity In Its Early Stage Is As Snug As A Feather Mattress. Only When It Hardens Does It Become Uncomfortable.
Positive
Self
Doe
When I'm Writing, I Am Trying To Find Out Who I Am, Who We Are, What We're Capable Of, How We Feel, How We Lose And Stand Up, And Go On From Darkness Into Darkness.
Writing
Who I Am
Darkness
My Pride Had Been Starched By A Family Who Assumed Unlimited Authority In Its Own Affairs.
Family
Pride
Affair
I Want To Be Representative Of My Race-the Human Race. I Have A Chance To Show How Kind We Can Be, How Intelligent And Generous We Can Be.
Intelligent
Race
Want
I Like To Speak On Matters Which Matter To Human Beings, And Almost Everything Matters To Human Beings.
Matter
Speak
Humans
People Are Too Busy Putting Things Under Microscopes And So Forth. Creativity Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts.
Creativity
People
Busy
Each Of Us Has The Power And Responsibility To Become A Rainbow In The Clouds.
Responsibility
Clouds
Rainbow
Information Helps You To See That You're Not Alone. That There's Somebody In Mississippi And Somebody In Tokyo Who Have Wept, Who've All Longed And Lost, Who've All Been Happy. So The Library Helps You To See, Not Only That You Are Not Alone, But That You're Not Really Any Different From Everyone Else.
Library
Different
Information
Stormy Or Sunny Days, Glorious Or Lonely Nights, I Maintain An Attitude Of Gratitude.
Lonely
Gratitude
Attitude
We, Unaccustomed To Courage Exiles From Delight Live Coiled In Shells Of Loneliness Until Love Leaves Its High Holy Temple And Comes Into Our Sight To Liberate Us Into Life.
Life
Courage
Loneliness
I Did Get Knocked Down Flat In Front Of The Whole World, And I Rose. I Didn't Run Away - I Rose Right Where I'd Been Knocked Down. And Then That's How You Get To Know Yourself. You Say, Hmm, I Can Get Up!
Running
Rose
World
Soft You Day, Be Velvet Soft, My True Love Approaches, Look You Bright, You Dusty Sun, Array Your Golden Coaches. Soft You Wind, Be Soft As Silk My True Love Is Speaking. Hold You Birds, Your Silver Throats, His Golden Voice I'm Seeking. Come You Death, In Haste, Do Come My Shroud Of Black Be Weaving, Quiet My Heart, Be Deathly Quiet, My True Love Is Leaving.
Heart
Love Is
Wind
There Is No Greater Agony Than Bearing An Untold Story Inside You.
Inspirational
Moving On
Powerful
Elimination Of Illiteracy Is As Serious An Issue To Our History As The Abolition Of Slavery.
Abolition Of Slavery
Issues
Serious
It's So Tedious Writing Cookbooks Or Writing The Recipes Because I've Never Been Much Of A Measurer. But To Write A Book, You Have To Measure Everything.
Book
Writing
Recipes
Laugh As Much As You Can.
Laughing
There Are Some Nights When Sleep Plays Coy, Aloof And Disdainful. And All The Wiles That I Employ To Win Its Service To My Side Are Useless As Wounded Pride, And Much More Painful.
Sleep
Pride
Winning
Ain't Nothin' To It, But To Do It.
Volunteer
Those Of Us Who Submitted Or Surrendered Our Ideas And Dreams And Identities To The 'leaders' Must Take Back Our Rights, Our Identities, Our Responsibilities.
Inspiring
Dream
Responsibility
Human Beings Are More Alike Than Unalike, And What Is True Anywhere Is True Everywhere, Yet I Encourage Travel To As Many Destinations As Possible For The Sake Of Education As Well As Pleasure.
Travel
Sake
Pleasure
The Holy Spirit Upon My Left Leads My Feet Without Ceasing Into The Camp Of The Righteous And Into The Tents Of The Free.
Faith
God
Christian
I Am A Very Religious Person, So It Is The Presence Of God, The Constant Unwavering, Unrelenting Presence Of God Which Continues To Help Me To Keep A Character Which I Am Proud To Show.
Religious
Character
Proud
I Would Welcome A Friendship With Lynne Hinton. I Would Welcome An Invitation To Sit Down At Her Table, But Mostly I Would Welcome Her Next Book.
Book
Tables
Next
In A Long Meter Hymn, A Singer - They Call It 'lays Out A Line.' And Then The Whole Church Joins In In Repeating That Line. And They Form A Wall Of Harmony So Tight, You Can't Wedge A Pin Between It.
Wall
Hymns
Long
I've Lived Many Places On The Planet, And I Still Have Friends In Many Places.
Planets
Stills
Joy Is A Freedom. It Helps A Person To Find His/her Own Liberation. The Person Who Is Joyous Takes Responsibility For The Time He/she Takes Up And The Space That He/she Occupies. You Share It! Some Of You Have It ... You Share It! That Is What Joy Is! When You Continue To Give It Away You Will Still Have So Much More Of It.
Responsibility
Space
Giving
Thank You, Always Say Thank You; It's The Greatest Gift You Can Give Someone; Because Thank You Is What You Say To God.
Giving
Saying Thank You
Greatest Gifts
One Must Learn To Care For Oneself First, So That One Can Then Dare To Care For Someone Else.
Care
Firsts
Dare
The Breezes Of The West African Night Were Intimate And Shy, Licking The Hair, Sweeping Through Cotton Dresses With Unseemly Intimacy, Then Disappearing Into The Utter Blackness.
Night
Hair
Dresses
Not Everything You Do Is Going To Be A Masterpiece, But You Get Art There And You Try And Sometimes It Really Happens. The Other Times You’re Just Stretching Your Soul.
Art
Soul
Trying
Beneath The Skin, Beyond The Differing Features And Into The True Heart Of Being, Fundamentally, We Are More Alike, My Friend, Than We Are Unalike.
Heart
Skins
My Friends
Love Is A Condition So Powerful; It May Be That Which Pulls The Stars In The Firmament. It May Be That Which Pushes And Urges The Blood In The Veins. Courage: You Have To Have Courage To Love Somebody Because You Risk Everything-ever Ything.
Stars
Powerful
Love Is
You Can Only Become Great At Something You Are Willing To Sacrifice For
Life
Sacrifice
Willing
You Have To Deal With What You Encounter. But You Must Not Be Reduced. And So A Way Not To Be Reduced Is Don't Whine! Don't Let The Incidents Which Take Place In Life Bring You Low.
Encounters
Way
Incidents
I Wouldn't Trade Anything For My Story Now.
Stories
Storytelling
Trade
Surviving Is Important. Thriving Is Elegant.
Inspirational
Life
What Matters
Inscribed On The Temple Of Apollo
Self Esteem
Self Confidence
Apollo
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.
Past
Next
Moments
Let Us Live So We Do Not Regret Years Of Inertia And Ignorance, So When We Die We Can Say All Of Our Energy Was Dedicated To The Noble Liberation Of The Human Mind And Spirit, Beginning With My Own.
Regret
Ignorance
Years
Education Is A Process That Goes On 'til Death. The Moment You See Someone Who Knows She Has Found The One True Way, And Can Call All The Others False, Then You Know You're In The Company Of An Ignoramus.
Education
Goes On
Way
I Am Capable Of What Every Other Human Is Capable Of. This Is One Of The Great Lessons Of War And Life.
War
Lessons
Humans
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.
Regret
Years
Giving
I Know That I've Been Guided By God. I Am Obedient.
Knows
Obedient
I've Tried To Be Totally Present, So That When I'm Finished With A Piece Of Work, I'm Finished. ... The Work, Once Completed, Does Not Need Me. The Work I'm Working On Needs My Total Concentration. The One That's Finished Doesn't Belong To Me Anymore. It Belongs To Itself.
Work
Doe
Needs
I Think We Have Systematically And Critically Harmed Ourselves And Many Young People By Advising Them Not To Try Things.
Thinking
People
Trying
All Men Are Prepared To Accomplish The Incredible If Their Ideals Are Threatened.
Inspiring
Courage
Thoughtful
The Nice Thing About Hope Is That You Can Give It To Someone Else, Someone Who Needs It Even More Than You Do, And You Will Find You Have Not Given Yours Away At All.
Nice
Giving
Needs
Every Day You Should Reach Out And Touch Someone
Kindness
Hug
Touch Someone
Whenever I'm Around Some Who Is Modest, I Think, 'run Like Hell And All Of Fire.' You Don't Want Modesty, You Want Humility.
Running
Humility
Thinking
I Became The Kind Of Parent My Mother Was To Me.
Mother
Parent
Kind
We Love And Lose In China, We Weep On England's Moors, And Laugh And Moan In Guinea, And Thrive On Spanish Shores. We Seek Success In Finland, Are Born And Die In Maine. In Minor Ways We Differ, In Major We're The Same.
Laughing
Maine
Way
One Must Know Not Just How To Accept A Gift, But With What Grace To Share It.
Christmas
Thank You
Karma
If You Have A Napkin, You Need Another Napkin To Receive Back All The Blessings You'll Get. And You Keep Giving. Then You Need A Towel To Receive All The Gifts. And You Continue Giving. Finally, You Need A Tablecloth. And You Continue Giving - Not Stupidly, But You Give. And When You Give, You Finally Have To Move Out And Get A Second House, And A Third House And A Fourth.it Is A No - Fail, Incontrovertible Reality: If You Get, Give. If You Learn, Teach. You Can't Do Anything With That Except Do It.
Moving
Reality
Blessing
If You're For The Right Thing, You Do It Without Thinking.
Thinking
Caged Birds
Ifs
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.
Life
God
Collaboration
There's Something Which Impels Us To Show Our Inner Souls. The More Courageous We Are, The More We Succeed In Explaining What We Know.
Soul
Succeed
Courageous
I Would Say You Might Encounter Many Defeats But You Must Never Be Defeated, Ever. In Fact, It Might Even Be Necessary To Confront Defeat. It Might Be Necessary, To Get Over It, All The Way Through It, And Go On. I Would Teach Her To Laugh A Lot. Laugh A Lot At The - And The Silliest Things And Be Very, Very Serious. I'd Teach Her To Love Life, I Can Bet You That.
Inspiring
Love Life
Thoughtful
Home Is That Youthful Region Where A Child Is The Only Real Living Inhabitant. Parents, Siblings, And Neighbors Are Mysterious Apparitions Who Come, Go, And Do Strange Unfathomable Thing In And Around The Child, The Region's Only Enfranchised Citizen.
Children
Sibling
Real
When I Want To Think About What Would Be The Right Thing To Do, The Fair Thing To Do, The Wise Thing To Do, I Can Just Think Of My Grandmother. I Can Always Hear Her Say, "now Sister, You Know What's Right. Just Do Right!"
Wise
Grandmother
Thinking
I Want All My Senses Engaged. Let Me Absorb The World's Variety And Uniqueness.
World
Want
Let Me
Original Thinking Migrates Each Day In Search Of Nourishment.
Thinking
Intellectual
Intelligence
Bitterness Is Like Cancer. It Eats Upon The Host. But Anger Is Like Fire. It Burns It All Clean.
Life
Cancer
Anger
I Try To See Every Day As A Celebration.
Trying
Celebration
But A Caged Bird Stands On The Grave Of Dreams.
Dream
Powerful
Bird
We Are Growing Up. We Are Growing Up! Out Of The Idiocies - The Ignorances Of Racism And Sexism And Ageism And All Those Ignorances.
Growing Up
Ignorance
Racism
Remember This: When You Cross My Doorstep, You Have Already Been Raised. With What You Have Learned...you Know The Difference Between Right And Wrong. Do Right. Don't Anybody Raise You From The Way You Have Been Raised. Know You Will Have To Make Adaptations, In Love, In Relationships, In Friends, In Society, In Work, But Don't Let Anybody Change Your Mind.
Inspirational
Differences
Mind
Oh, The Holiness Of Always Being The Injured Party. The Historically Oppressed Can Find Not Only Sanctity But Safety In The Stateof Victimization. When Access To A Better Life Has Been Denied Often Enough, And Successfully Enough, One Can Use The Rejection As An Excuse To Cease All Efforts. After All, One Reckons, "they" Don't Want Me, "they" Accept Their Own Mediocrity And Refuse My Best, "they" Don't Deserve Me.
Party
Safety
Effort
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.
Inspirational
Life
Inspiring
If Funkytown Was A Trailerpark, This Guy Would Be A Double-wide.
Guy
Would Be
Wide
All My Work, My Life, Everything I Do Is About Survival, Not Just Bare, Awful, Plodding Survival, But Survival With Grace And Faith. While One May Encounter Many Defeats, One Must Not Be Defeated.
Grace
Survival
Encounters
Life Loves The Person Who Dares To Live It.
Life
Love Life
Dare
Love Liberates. It Doesn't Just Hold - That's Ego. Love Liberates. It Doesn't Bind.
If You Find It In Your Heart To Care For Somebody Else, You Will Have Succeeded.
Love
Inspirational
Broken Heart
Because Of Our Routines We Forget That Life Is An Ongoing Adventure.
Adventure
Dreamer
Ongoing
Y’all Dropped The Ball And You Should Be Shamed.
Balls
Should
All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes.
Children
Shoes
Needs
Courage Allows The Successful Woman To Fail - And To Learn Powerful Lessons From The Failure - So That In The End, She Didn't Fail At All.
Inspirational
Courage
Powerful
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.
Giving
Resentment
Burden
When I Was Asked To Do Something Good, I Often Say Yes, I'll Try, Yes, I'll Do My Best. And Part Of That Is Believing, If God Loves Me, If God Made Everything From Leaves To Seals And Oak Trees, Then What Is It I Can't Do?
Believe
Tree
Trying
When Members Of A Society Wish To Secure That Society's Rich Heritage They Cherish Their Arts And Respect Their Artists. The Esteem With Which We Regard The Multiple Cultures Offered In Our Country Enhances Our Possibilities For Healthy Survival And Continued Social Development.
Life
Country
Art
The Black Kids, The Poor White Kids, Spanish-speaking Kids, And Asian Kids In The Us - In The Face Of Everything To The Contrary, They Still Bop And Bump, Shout And Go To School Somehow. Their Optimism Gives Me Hope.
Kids
School
White
I Not Only Have The Right To Stand Up For Myself, But I Have The Responsibility. I Can't Ask Somebody Else To Stand Up For Me If I Won't Stand Up For Myself. And Once You Stand Up For Yourself, You'd Be Surprised That People Say, "can I Be Of Help?".
Responsibility
People
Helping
The Trouble For The Thief Is Not How To Steal The Chief’s Bugle, But Where To Blow It.
Life
Blow
Thieves
The Thing To Do, It Seems To Me, Is To Prepare Yourself So You Can Be A Rainbow In Somebody Else's Cloud. Somebody Who May Not Look Like You. May Not Call God The Same Name You Call God - If They Call God At All. I May Not Dance Your Dances Or Speak Your Language. But Be A Blessing To Somebody. That's What I Think.
Blessing
Thinking
Clouds
Life Sometimes Gives You A Second Chance.
Second Chance
Giving
Sometimes
I Don't Believe An Accident Of Birth Makes People Sisters Or Brothers. It Makes Them Siblings, Gives Them Mutuality Of Parentage. Sisterhood And Brotherhood Is A Condition People Have To Work At.
Sister
Brother
Sibling
You Have To Deal With What You Encounter. But You Must Not Be Reduced. And So A Way Not To Be Reduced Is Don't Whine! Don't Let The Incidents Which Take Place In Life Bring You Low.
Encounters
Way
Incidents
My Entire Stay There [high School] Might Have Been Time Lost If It Hadn't Been For The Unique Personality Of A Brilliant Teacher. Miss Kirwin Was That Rare Educator Who Was In Love With Information. I Will Always Believe That Her Love Of Teaching Came Not So Much From Her Liking For Students But From Her Desire To Make Sure That Some Of The Things She Knew Would Find Repositories So That They Could Be Shared Again.
Teacher
Teaching
Believe
All Great Acheivements Require Time.
What I Think It Really Means Is: I'm A Teacher. I Am A Teacher. I Teach All The Time, As You Do And As All Of You Do-whether We Know It Or Not, Whether We Take Responsibility For It Or Not. I Hold Nothing Back Because I Want To See That Light Go Off. I Like To See The Children Say, 'i Never Thought Of That Before.' And I Think, 'i've Got Them!'
Teacher
Children
Mean
You Build Your 'courage Muscle' Daily, By Being Courageous In Little Things. Just Do Right.
Littles
Courageous
Little Things
If God Put The Rainbows Right In The Clouds Themselves, Each One Of Us In The Direst And Dullest And Most Dreaded And Dreary Moments Can See A Possibility Of Hope ... Each One Of Us Has The Chance To Be A Rainbow In Somebody's Cloud.
Clouds
Rainbow
Chance
Some Think, "if I Marry This Guy Who's Two Inches Taller Than I Am And Who Has A Nice Bank Account, I Won't Die. If I Buy Six Cars, I Won't Die. If I Hate Jews, I Won't Die. If I Hate Homosexuals, I Won't Die." They Think They Will Increase Their Life By Shunting Misery Onto Somebody Else, But It's Just The Opposite.
Nice
Hate
Thinking
If A Person - Any Human Being - Is Told Often Enough, "you Are Nothing. You Are Nothing. You Account For Nothing. You Count For Nothing. You Are Less Than A Human Being. I Have No Visibility Of You", The Person Finally Begins To Believe It.
Believe
Visibility
Enough
I've Learned That Regardless Of Your Relationship With Your Parents, You'll Miss Them When They're Gone From Your Life.
Inspirational
Parent
Missing
There Is A Kind Of Strength That Is Almost Frightening In Black Women. It's As If A Steel Rod Runs Right Through The Head Down To The Feet.
Running
Feet
Black
Nothing Succeeds Like Success. Get A Little Success, And Then Just Get A Little More.
Littles
Succeed
Truth Of Life
Home Is A Refuge Not Only From The World, But A Refuge From My Worries, My Troubles, My Concerns. I Like Beautiful Things Around Me. I Like To Be Beautiful Because It Delights My Eyes And My Soul Is Lifted Up.
Beautiful
Home
Eye
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.
Happiness
Success
Hope
Human Beings Are More Alike Than Unalike. Whether In Paris, Texas, Or Paris, France, We All Want To Have Good Jobs Where We Are Needed And Respected And Paid Just A Little More Than We Deserve. We Want Healthy Children, Safe Streets, To Be Loved And Have The Unmitigated Gall To Accept Love. If We Are Religious, We Want A Place To Perpetuate God. If Not, We Want A Good Lecture Every Once In A While. And Everyone Wants Someplace To Party On Saturday Nights.
Religious
Jobs
Children
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.
Inspirational
Children
Book
Find Something You Like, Go Into A Room, Close The Door And Read It Aloud. Read It Aloud. Everybody In The World Who Likes Dance Can See Dance, Or Hear Music, Or See Art, Or Admire Architecture - But Everybody In The World Uses Words Who Is Not A Recluse Or Mute. But The Writer Has To Take These Most Common Things, More Common Than Musical Notes Or Dance Positions, A Writer Has To Take Some Adverbs, And Verbs And Nouns And Ball Them Up Together And Make Them Bounce.
Art
Doors
Musical
I Never Had That Feeling That I Had To Carry The Weight Of Somebody's Ignorance Around With Me. And That Was True For Racists Who Wanted To Use The 'n' Word When Talking About Me Or About My People, Or The Stupidity Of People Who Really Wanted To Belittle Other Folks Because They Weren't Pretty Or They Weren't Rich Or They Weren't Clever.
Clever
Ignorance
Talking
Won't It Be Wonderful When Black History And Native American History And Jewish History And All Of U.s. History Is Taught From One Book. Just U.s. History.
Book
Native American
Black History
When Younger Writers And Poets, Musicians And Painters Are Weakened By A Stemming Of Funds, They Come To Me Saddened, Not As Full Of Dreams And Excitement And Ideas. I Am Then Weakened And Diminished, And Made Less Rich.
Dream
Ideas
Musician
I Couldn't Tell Fact From Fiction, Or If The Dream Was True My Only Sure Prediction In This World Was You. I'd Touch Your Features Inchly. Beard Love And Dared The Cost, The Sented Spiel Reeled Me Unreal And I Found My Senses Lost.
Life
Dream
Cost
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.
Would Be
Looks
Courses
It Is Impossible To Struggle For Civil Rights, Equal Rights For Blacks, Without Including Whites. Because Equal Rights, Fair Play, Justice, Are All Like The Air: We All Have It, Or None Of Us Has It. That Is The Truth Of It.
Positive
Struggle
Rights
To Take A Few Nouns, And A Few Pronouns, And Adverbs And Adjectives, And Put Them Together, Ball Them Up, And Throw Them Against The Wall To Make Them Bounce. That's What Norman Mailer Did. That's What James Baldwin Did, And Joan Didion Did, And That's What I Do - That's What I Mean To Do.
Wall
Mean
Together
The Public Library Building, In My View, Is Just A Little Lower Than The Church, The Cathedral, The Temple, The Synagogue And The Mosque. Within Those Walls And Along Those Stacks, I Have Found Security And Assurance.
Wall
Views
Church
Joy Is A Freedom. It Helps A Person To Find His/her Own Liberation. The Person Who Is Joyous Takes Responsibility For The Time He/she Takes Up And The Space That He/she Occupies. You Share It! Some Of You Have It ... You Share It! That Is What Joy Is! When You Continue To Give It Away You Will Still Have So Much More Of It.
Responsibility
Space
Giving
I Note The Obvious Differences Between Each Sort And Type, But We Are More Alike, My Friends, Than We Are Unalike.
Differences
Notes
Type
It Is Imperative That Young White Men And Women Study The Black American History. It Is Imperative That Blacks And Whites Study The Asian American History.
Men
White Man
Black
Exchange Love For Hate...thereby, Making The Present Comfortable And The Future Promising.
Peace
Hate
Inspirational Forgiveness
If You Have Only One Smile In You Give It To The People You Love.
Inspirational
Life
Smile
Determine To Live Life With Flair And Laughter.
Laughter
Live Life
Flair
I Live In An Atmosphere Of Music.
Atmosphere
We May Act Sophisticated And Worldly But I Believe We Feel Safest When We Go Inside Ourselves And Find Home, A Place Where We Belong And Maybe The Only Place We Really Do.
Life
Believe
Home
I Know For Sure That Love Saves Me And That It Is Here To Save Us All.
Inspirational
Save Me
Knows
If You Are Always Trying To Be Normal You Will Never Know How Amazing You Can Be.
Inspiring
Success
Encouragement
Do The Best You Can Until You Know Better. Then When You Know Better, Do Better.
Success
Cancer
Positivity
I Did Then What I Knew How To Do. Now That I Know Better, I Do Better.
Inspirational
Life Changing
Failure
It May In Fact Be Utterly Impossible To Be Successful Without Helping Others To Become Successful.
Successful
Helping Others
May
Life Is A Glorious Banquet, A Limitless And Delicious Buffet.
Buffets
Life Is
Limitless
If Somebody Is Really Trying To Take Your Head Off With A Baseball Bat - I Don't Know How Long You're Supposed To Stand There And Turn The Other Cheek, So He Or She Can Get A Better Angle At Taking Your Head Off.
Baseball
Long
Trying
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.
Hurt
Honesty
Pain
Once You Appreciate One Of Your Blessings, One Of Your Senses, Your Sense Of Hearing, Then You Begin To Respect The Sense Of Seeing And Touching And Tasting, You Learn To Respect All The Senses.
Philosophy
Blessing
Medicine
People Trying To Separate People Rather Than Bring Us Together... Please. You Don't Just See It In America. It's All Over The World.
America
People
Trying
I'm Just Someone Who Likes Cooking And For Whom Sharing Food Is A Form Of Expression.
Expression
Cooking
Likes
People Feel Guilty. And Guilt Is Stymieing. Guilt Immobilizes. Guilt Closes The Air Ducts And The Veins, And Makes People Ignorant.
Air
People
Ignorant
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.
Would Be
Looks
Courses
Though We Are Many, Each Of Us Is Achingly Alone, Piercingly Alone. Only When We Confess Our Confusion Can We Remember That He Was A Gift To Us And We Did Have Him. He Came To Us From The Creator, Trailing Creativity In Abundance. Despite The Anguish, His Life Was Sheathed In Mother Love, Family Love, And Survived And Did More Than That. He Thrived With Passion And Compassion, Humor And Style. We Had Him Whether We Know Who He Was Or Did Not Know, He Was Ours And We Were His.
Mother
Passion
Creativity
Talent Is Like Electricity. We Don't Understand Electricity. We Use It.
Positive
Writing
Use
If You Have Only One Smile In You Give It To The People You Love.
Inspirational
Life
Smile
Sometimes All You Need In Love Is To Make Each Other Happy, To Make Each Other Laugh. So Long As You Can Still Do That Ten Years Down The Line Then I Think You're Gold. Never Let The Laughter Slip From Your Relationship.
Laughter
Romantic Love
Love Is
Every Day You Should Reach Out And Touch Someone
Kindness
Hug
Touch Someone
She Comprehended The Perversity Of Life, That In The Struggle Lies The Joy.
Lying
Struggle
Joy
Love Recognizes No Barriers. It Jumps Hurdles, Leaps Fences, Penetrates Walls To Arrive At Its Destination Full Of Hope.
Love
Inspirational
Life
I Learned A Long Time Ago The Wisest Thing I Can Do Is Be On My Own Side, Be An Advocate For Myself And Others Like Me.
Life Changing
Long
Sides
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.
Inspirational
Life
Motivational
No Sun Outlasts Its Sunset, But Will Rise Again And Bring The Dawn.
Inspirational
Sunset
Dawn
When I Want To Think About What Would Be The Right Thing To Do, The Fair Thing To Do, The Wise Thing To Do, I Can Just Think Of My Grandmother. I Can Always Hear Her Say, "now Sister, You Know What's Right. Just Do Right!"
Wise
Grandmother
Thinking
Life Is Pure Adventure, And The Sooner We Realize That, The Quicker We Will Be Able To Treat Life As Art.
Life
Inspiring
Art
If I'm Here, I'll Be Trying To Be A Better Human Being, A Better Writer, A Better Friend And A Better Beloved.
Trying
Beloved
Humans
Hoping For The Best, Prepared For The Worst, And Unsurprised By Anything In Between.
Inspirational
Success
Personal Growth
I Was Grateful To See President Obama's Victory Speech. I Was Over The Moon To See The Audience. There Were About 60 Percent White Voters The Other 40 Percent Were African Americans, Asian, Spanish Speaking Etc. I Wept At That Spectacle, It Told Me That The Pundits That Continue In Our Country To Try To Polarize Us, To Keep Us Apart, Are Not Succeeding. Americans Are Waking Up Not Only To The Truth, But The Truth In Each Other. Hallelujah!
Country
Grateful
Moon
Nobody Can Enjoy Unless We All Enjoy, Truly Enjoy.
Enjoy
People Don't Always Remember What You Say Or Even What You Do, But They Always Remember How You Make Them Feel.
People
Remember
Feels
To Grow Up Is To Stop Putting Blame On Parents.
Life
Growing Up
Parent
The Need For Change Bulldozed A Road Down The Center Of My Mind.
Inspirational
Motivational
Change
I Don't Think Modesty Is A Very Good Virtue, If It Is A Virtue At All. A Modest Person Will Drop The Modesty In A Minute. It's A Learned Affectation.
Thinking
Modesty
Virtue
I Answer The Heroic Question, 'death, Where Is Thy Sting?' With 'it Is In My Heart And Mind And Memories.
Love
Death
Memories
The Black Kids, The Poor White Kids, Spanish-speaking Kids, And Asian Kids In The Us - In The Face Of Everything To The Contrary, They Still Bop And Bump, Shout And Go To School Somehow. Their Optimism Gives Me Hope.
Kids
School
White
I Have A Son, Who Is My Heart. A Wonderful Young Man, Daring And Loving And Strong And Kind.
Strong
Heart
Son
I Believe We Are Still So Innocent. The Species Are Still So Innocent That A Person Who Is Apt To Be Murdered Believes That The Murderer, Just Before He Puts The Final Wrench On His Throat, Will Have Enough Compassion To Give Him One Sweet Cup Of Water.
Positive
Sweet
Believe
There Is A Place In You That You Must Keep Inviolate, A Place That You Must Keep Clean. A Place Where You Say To Any Intruder, "back Up, Don't You Know I'm A Child Of God.
Children
Clean
Child Of God
My Greatest Blessing Has Been The Birth Of My Son. My Next Greatest Blessing Has Been My Ability To Turn People Into Children Of Mine.
Children
Son
Blessing
You Build Your 'courage Muscle' Daily, By Being Courageous In Little Things. Just Do Right.
Littles
Courageous
Little Things
I'm Happy To Be A Writer - Of Prose, Poetry, Every Kind Of Writing. Every Person In The World Who Isn't A Recluse, Hermit Or Mute Uses Words. I Know Of No Other Art Form That We Always Use.
Art
Writing
Prose Poetry
The Real Difficulty Is To Overcome How You Think About Yourself. If We Don't Have That We Never Grow, We Never Learn, And Sure As Hell We Should Never Teach.
Real
Thinking
Overcoming
Nature Has No Mercy At All. Nature Says, "i'm Going To Snow. If You Have On A Bikini And No Snowshoes, That's Tough. I Am Going To Snow Anyway."
Inspirational
Motivational
Nature
God Puts Rainbows In The Clouds So That Each Of Us - In The Dreariest And Most Dreaded Moments - Can See A Possibility Of Hope.
Clouds
Chasing Rainbows
Moments
To Those Who Have Given Up On Love: I Say, "trust Life A Little Bit.
I Hate You
Littles
Aging
The Plague Of Racism Is Insidious, Entering Into Our Minds As Smoothly And Quietly And Invisibly As Floating Airborne Microbes Enter Into Our Bodies To Find Lifelong Purchase In Our Bloodstreams.
Justice
Diversity
Racism
If We Lose Love And Self Respect For Each Other, This Is How We Finally Die.
Love
Respect
Self
I'm Grateful To Intelligent People. That Doesn't Mean Educated. That Doesn't Mean Intellectual. I Mean Really Intelligent. What Black Old People Used To Call 'mother Wit' Means Intelligence That You Had In Your Mother's Womb. That's What You Rely On. You Know What's Right To Do.
Life
Mother
Grateful
Life Loves The Person Who Dares To Live It.
Life
Love Life
Dare
Try To Be All You Can Be To Be The Best Human Being You Can Be. Try To Be That In Your Church, In Your Temple. Try To Be That In Your Classroom. Do It Because It Is Right To Do.
Church
Trying
Temples
The Country Didn't Get That Way In A Week; We've Had Years And Years Of Getting Behind In Our Economy. So President [barack] Obama Stepped Into A Hellhole And People Wanted Him To Change It As Soon As He Came In. But He's Got His Adversaries To Deal With In The House And Senate, So It's Not Easy.
Country
Years
People
I Have A Feeling That I Make A Very Good Friend, And I'm A Good Mother, And A Good Sister, And A Good Citizen. I Am Involved In Life Itself - All Of It. And I Have A Lot Of Energy And A Lot Of Nerve.
Mother
Good Friend
Feelings
Depending On Who I Am Talking About Or Who's Talking Through Me - If The Person Is A Kind Of Hip-hop, Or Rhythm And Blues Person, Or If The Person Is A Kind Of Old-fashion Gothic, Meaning Gothic Attitude, Then That Will Determine What Form The Poem Will Take.
Fashion
Attitude
Who I Am
The Happy Heart Runs With The River, Floats On The Air, Lifts To The Music, Soars With The Eagle, Hopes With The Prayer.
Inspirational
Life
Running
There's Something Beautiful About The Fact That Obama Was Not Just Elected, But Elected Decisively Across Racial, And Socio-economic And Cultural Groups And That We All Celebrated In His Win.
Beautiful
Winning
Groups
I Like To Know What's Happening.
Knows
Happenings
The World Had Taken A Deep Breath And Was Having Doubts About Continuing To Revolve.
Taken
Doubt
Caged Birds
I Have Heard It Said That Winter, Too, Will Pass, That Spring Is A Sign That Summer Is Due At Last. See, All We Have To Do Is Hang On.
Summer
Spring
Winter
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.
Air
Sky
Voice
If I'm Here, I'll Be Trying To Be A Better Human Being, A Better Writer, A Better Friend And A Better Beloved.
Trying
Beloved
Humans
Of All The Needs (there Are None Imaginary) A Lonely Child Has, The One That Must Be Satisfied, If There Is Going To Be Hope And A Hope Of Wholeness, Is The Unshaking Need For An Unshakable God. My Pretty Black Brother Was My Kingdom Come.
Inspirational
Life
Motivational
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.
Thinking
Trying
Honest
Trending Author
Charlie Chaplin
Alphonse De Lamartine
James G. Frazer
Donna Mills
Damian Lewis
Ilie Nastase
Category
Information