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We Need Language To Tell Us Who We Are, How We Feel, What We're Capable Of- To Explain The Pains And Glory Of Our Existence.
-Maya Angelou
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We Need Language To

Maya Angelou
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We Need Language To Tell Us Who We Are, How We Feel, What We're Capable Of- To Explain The Pains And Glory Of Our Existence.

Understanding the Quote: "we need language to tell us who we are, how we feel,..."

This quote by Maya Angelou reflects deeply on the theme of pain. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Pain, Needs, Who We Are, 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 pain and needs. 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: 37346
Topic
Pain
Needs
Who We Are
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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.
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A Woman Who Is Convinced That She Deserves To Accept Only The Best Challenges Herself To Give The Best. Then She Is Living Phenomenally.
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I Keep On Dying, Because I Love To Live
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I Have Respect For The Past, But I'm A Person Of The Moment.
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Love Liberates. Love - Not Sentimentality, Not Mush - But True Love Gives You Enough Courage That You Can Say To Somebody, "don't Do That, Baby." And The Person Will Know You're Not Preaching But Teaching.
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If You Don't Like Something, Change It. If You Can't Change It, Change Your Attitude.
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As Far As I Knew White Women Were Never Lonely, Except In Books. White Men Adored Them, Black Men Desired Them And Black Women Worked For Them.
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You Can Never Be Great At Anything Unless You Love It.
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I'm A Writer And Writers Either Have Good Memories Or Nothing At All.
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The Most Difficult Thing In The World, It Seems To Me, Is To Realize That I Am A Child Of God; To Keep That In My Mind All The Time.
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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.
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My Encouragement To You Is To Go Tomorrow To The Library.
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I Note The Obvious Differences Between Each Sort And Type, But We Are More Alike, My Friends, Than We Are Unalike.
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I Speak A Number Of Languages, But None Are More Beautiful To Me Than English.
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No One Has Ever Become Poor From Giving.
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You May Not Remember What A Person Said To You, You May Not Remember What A Person Did To You, But You Will Never Forget How A Person Made You Feel!
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When My Grandmother Died, I Realized That Even If I Had Millions Of Dollars, I Couldn't Find Her Anywhere On Earth. My Next Thought Was That I Would Die. I Looked At My Life And Thought, "i'm Afraid To Die." I Concluded That Whether I Was Afraid Or Not, I Would Die. It Was One Of The Most Important Crossroads In My Life, Once I Realized That No Matter What, I Would Do This Thing, The Next Step Was To Think, "if I Am Going To Do The Most Difficult And Frightening Thing - Dying - Is It Possible That I Could Do Some Difficult And Impossible Things That Are Good?"
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The Quality Of Strength Lined With Tenderness Is An Unbeatable Combination, As Are Intelligence And Necessity When Unblunted By Formal Education.
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Remember, People Will Judge You By Your Actions Not Your Intentions. You May Have A Heart Of Gold But So Does A Hard-boiled Egg.
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I Also Wear A Hat Or A Very Tightly Pulled Head Tie When I Write. I Suppose I Hope By Doing That I Will Keep My Brains From Seeping Out Of My Scalp And Running In Great Gray Blobs Down My Neck, Into My Ears, And Over My Face.
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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.
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If I Have A Monument In This World, It Is My Son.
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It's One Of The Greatest Gifts You Can Give Yourself, To Forgive. Forgive Everybody.
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I Wish That We Could Look Into Each Other's Faces, In Each Other's Eyes, And See Our Own Selves. I Hope That The Children Have Not Been So Scarred By Their Upbringing That They Only Think Fear When They See Someone Else Who Looks Separate From Them.
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You May Not Control All The Events That Happen To You, But You Can Decide Not To Be Reduced By Them.
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To Be Human Is To Be Challenged To Be More Divine. Not Even To Try To Meet Such A Challenge Is The Biggest Defeat Imaginable.
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I Can See In The Acorn The Oak Tree. I See The Growth, The Rebuilding, The Restoring. I See That Is The American Psyche. There Is So Much We Can Draw Understanding From. One Of The Lessons Is The Development Of Courage. Because Without Courage, You Can't Practice Any Of The Other Virtues Consistently.
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I Come As One, But Stand As 10,000.
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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?
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All Men Are Prepared To Accomplish The Incredible If Their Ideals Are Threatened.
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You Can Never Be Great At Anything Unless You Love It.
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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.
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You Don't Need Another Person, Place Or Thing To Make You Whole. God Already Did That. Your Job Is To Know It.
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I Dreamt We Walked Together Along The Shore. We Made Satisfying Small Talk And Laughed. This Morning I Found Sand In My Shoe And A Seashell In My Pocket. Was I Only Dreaming?
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Blacks Concede That Hurrawing, Jibing, Jiving, Signifying, Disrespecting, Cursing, Even Outright Insults Might Be Acceptable Under Particular Conditions, But Aspersions Cast Against One's Family Call For Immediate Attack.
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Step Off The Road. Build Yourself A Brand New Path.
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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.
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If You're Going To Live, Leave A Legacy. Make A Mark On The World That Can't Be Erased.
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Live Life As If It Were Created Just For You.
Live Life
Ifs
I Believe That People Want The Scent Of Love, More Than Anything Else. And I Don't Mean Sentimentality, I Don't Mean Mush. I Mean That Idea, That Human Beings Are More Alike Than We Are Different. And That Means That I Can Love You. I Don't Mean Support You In Bad Things You Do, That I Can Understand Because You're A Human Being.
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Mean
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Wise
Insperational
Like A Pianist Runs Her Fingers Over The Keys, I'll Search My Mind For What To Say. Now, The Poem May Want You To Write It. And Then Sometimes You See A Situation And Think, 'i'd Like To Write About That.' Those Are Two Different Ways Of Being Approached By A Poem, Or Approaching A Poem.
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Recipes
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Thinking
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Magic
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Poetry Gave Me Back My Voice.
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Take A Month And Show Some Kindness For The Folks Who Thought That Blindness Was An Illness That Affected Eyes Alone.
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Eye
Months
I Make Writing As Much A Part Of My Life As I Do Eating Or Listening To Music.
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One Thing
Unsure
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Taking A Break
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We Are Only As Blind As We Want To Be.
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Want
Blind
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Party
Safety
Effort
Now, After Years Of Observation And Enough Courage To Admit What I Have Observed, I Try To Plant Peace If I Do Not Want Discord; To Plant Loyalty And Honesty If I Want To Avoid Betrayal And Lies.
Inspirational
Loyalty
Honesty
I'm Very Blessed That I Have A Healthy Temper. I Can Become Quite Angry And Burning In Anger, But I Have Never Been Bitter. Bitterness Is A Corrosive, Terrible Acid. It Just Eats You And Makes You Sick.
Blessed
Sick
Healthy
I'm Working At Trying To Be A Christian And That's Serious Business. It's Like Trying To Be A Good Jew, A Good Muslim, A Good Buddhist, A Good Shintoist, A Good Zoroastrian, A Good Friend, A Good Lover, A Good Mother, A Good Buddy—it's Serious Business. It's Not Something Where You Think, Oh, I've Got It Done. I Did It All Day, Hotdiggety. The Truth Is, All Day Long You Try To Do It, Try To Be It, And Then In The Evening If You're Honest And Have A Little Courage You Look At Yourself And Say, Hmm. I Only Blew It Eighty-six Times. Not Bad.
Christian
Mother
Buddhist
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
I Agreed A Long Time Ago, I Would Not Live At Any Cost. If I Am Moved Or Forced Away From What I Think Is The Right Thing, I Will Not Do It.
Moving
Thinking
Long
Time Itself Is An Individual Gift. It Is Wise To Cherish It Carefully And Give It Away Generously.
Wise
Giving
Cherish
There Is No Place Where God Is Not.
Faith In God
Without Courage We Cannot Practice Any Other Virtue With Consistency.
Courage
Practice
Bravery
I Love A Statement By The Apostle Paul, In The Book Of Philippians In The Bible. I Think The Corinthians Had Been Writing To Paul, Telling Him That Old Men Were Chasing Young Women, Nobody Was Tithing - And All That Must Have Run Paul Crazy. He Wrote Back And Said, "if There Be Anything Of Good Report, Speak Of These Things." That's One Of My Principles.it's Another Discipline That I Encourage Myself To Employ - To, As Much As Possible, Say The Courteous Thing, And Then Be It.
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Crazy
Book
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
There Is A World Of Difference Between Facts And The Truth. You Can Have So Many Facts That You Don't Deal With The Truth. You Never Get To The Truth. You Have The Places Where, The People Who, The Times When, The Reasons Why, The Methods How - Blah Blah. And Never Get To The Human Truth. The Human Truth Is As Elusive As The Air. And As Important As The Air.
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Differences
People
Words Mean More Than What Is Set Down On Paper. It Takes The Human Voice To Infuse Them With Deeper Meaning.
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Mean
Voice
The Need For Change Bulldozed A Road Down The Center Of My Mind.
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Motivational
Change
Growing Up, I Decided, A Long Time Ago, I Wouldn't Accept Any Manmade Differences Between Human Beings, Differences Made At Somebody Else's Insistence Or Someone Else's Whim Or Convenience.
Growing Up
Differences
Long
I Know Something Better Is On The Road For Me.
Something Better
Knows
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Hurt
Husband
Fall
People Have To Feel Needed. Frequently, We Just Offer A Job And 'perks.' We Don't Always Offer People A Purpose. When People Feel There Is A Purpose And That They're Needed, There's Not Much Else To Do Except Let Them Do The Work.
Jobs
People
Purpose
When Things Were Very Bad His Soul Just Crawled Behind His Heart And Curled Up And Went To Sleep
Heart
Sleep
Soul
A Woman Needs Someone She Can Trust, Someone Who Laughs When She Laughs, But Who Has Different Ideas So She Can Learn From And Teach To Them. She Needs Someone Who Will Stand Up With Her And Encourage Her To Be A Woman-not Just A Female. See Where You Are, Admit What You Know, And What You Need, And Search For A Sister Friend.
Ideas
Laughing
Black History
Pretty Women Wonder Where My Secret Lies.
Lying
Pretty Woman
Secret
At The End Of The Day People Won't Remember What You Said Or Did, They Will Remember How You Made Them Feel.
Love
People
The End Of The Day
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
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Beautiful
Language
Rhythm
Spirit Is An Invisible Force Made Visible In All Life.
Life
Spiritual
Invisible
I Am Convinced That Most People Do Not Grow Up ... Our Real Selves, The Children Inside, Are Still Innocent And Shy As Magnolias.
Children
Growing Up
Real
Each Of Us, Famous Or Infamous, Is A Role Model For Somebody, And If We Aren't, We Should Behave As Though We Are -- Cheerful, Kind, Loving, Courteous. Because You Can Be Sure Someone Is Watching And Taking Deliberate And Diligent Notes.
Role Models
Cheerful
Roles
Poetry Helps My Soul Escape Its Encasement.
Soul
Helping
My Soul
Hope Does Not Take Away Your Problems. It Can Lift You Above Them.
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Problem
Lifts
We Delight In The Beauty Of The Butterfly, But Rarely Admit The Changes It Has Gone Through To Achieve That Beauty.
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Change
Inspiring
Women Should Be Tough, Tender, Laugh As Much As Possible, And Live Long Lives.
Life
Long
Laughing
Until Recently Each Generation Found It More Expedient To Plead Guilty To The Charge Of Being Young And Ignorant, Easier To Take The Punishment Meted Out By The Older Generation (which Had Itself Confessed To The Same Crime Short Years Before). The Command To Grow Up At Once Was More Bearable Than The Faceless Horror Of Wavering Purpose, Which Was Youth.
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Growing Up
Years
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.
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Children
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The World Had Taken A Deep Breath And Was Having Doubts About Continuing To Revolve.
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Doubt
Caged Birds
You Dwell In Whitened Castles With Deep And Poisoned Moats And Cannot Hear The Curses Which Fill Your Children's Throats.
Children
Castles
Moats
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Ignorance
Thinking
People
Life Loves The Liver Of It. You Must Live And Life Will Be Good To You.
Love Life
Be Good
Liver
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Tragedy
Matter
Boring
Timidity Makes A Person Modest. It Makes Him Or Her Say, "i'm Not Worthy Of Being Written Up In The Record Of Deeds In Heaven Or On Earth." Timidity Keeps People From Their Good. They Are Afraid To Say, "yes, I Deserve It."
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People
Heaven
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Love
Inspirational
Girl
Life Loves The Liver Of It.
Inspirational
Life
Spiritual
No Human Being Can Be More Human Than Another Human Being. I Liberate You From My Ignorance.
Ignorance
African American
Humanity
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Consistency
Have Courage
Merciful
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.
Passion
Compassion
Style
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.
Thinking
Effort
Might
Just As Hope Rings Through Laughter, It Can Also Shine Through Tears.
Laughter
Shining
Tears
When It Looks Like The Sun Isn't Going To Shine Any More, God Puts A Rainbow In The Clouds. Each One Of Us Has The Possibility, The Responsibility, The Probability To Be The Rainbow In The Clouds.
Responsibility
Clouds
Rainbow
Each Time A Dancer Moves Devoutly Or A Composer Faithfully Searches The Silence For The Veiled Melodies, Eternity Is Engaged.
Moving
Silence
Dancer
I Try To See Every Day As A Celebration.
Trying
Celebration
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.
Inspirational
Life
Passion
Achievement Brings Its Own Anticlimax.
Achievement
I Am Serious, So I Laugh A Lot. You Need To Laugh. You Don't Laugh Enough. I Don't Trust Anyone Who Doesn't Laugh.
Laughing
Needs
Serious
I Believe In Living A Poetic Life, An Art Full Life. Everything We Do From The Way We Raise Our Children To The Way We Welcome Our Friends Is Part Of A Large Canvas We Are Creating.
Art
Children
Inspirational Life
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
Inspirational
Life
Inspiring
You Can Never Go Home Again, But The Truth Is You Can Never Leave Home, So It's All Right.
Home
Truth Is
Cozy Home
In Diversity There Is Beauty And There Is Strength.
Inspirational
Strength
Beauty
I've Learned That Whenever I Decide Something With An Open Heart, I Usually Make The Right Decision.
Inspirational
Heart
Decision
Lord Keep Your Arm Around My Shoulder And Your Hand Over My Mouth.
Hands
Mouths
Arms
She Comprehended The Perversity Of Life, That In The Struggle Lies The Joy.
Lying
Struggle
Joy
Courage - You Develop Courage By Doing Small Things Like Just As If You Wouldn't Want To Pick Up A 100-pound Weight Without Preparing Yourself.
Weight
Want
Pounds
Anything That Works Against You Can Also Work For You Once You Understand The Principle Of Reverse.
Inspirational
Principles
Reverse
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
Anger Is Like Fire. It Burns All Clean.
Fire
Clean
Listen Carefully To What Country People Call Mother Wit. In Those Homely Sayings Are Couched The Collective Wisdom Of Generations.
Mother
Country
People
I Dreamt We Walked Together Along The Shore. We Made Satisfying Small Talk And Laughed. This Morning I Found Sand In My Shoe And A Seashell In My Pocket. Was I Only Dreaming?
Dream
Morning
Shoes
I'm A Positive Thinker And Actor. I Look At A Glass; A Negative Person Sees The Glass And Says: Too Bad It's Half Empty... I Look At The Same Glass And Say: Hallelujah!! It's Half Full!!!
Glasses
Half Empty
Negative
I Have Enough Of Life In Me To Make Somebody Jealous Enough To Want To Knock Me Down. I Have So Much Courage In Me That I Have The Effrontery, The Incredible Gall To Stand Up. That's It. That's How You Get To Know Who You Are.
Jealous
Want
Incredibles
Hope And Fear Cannot Occupy The Same Space. Invite One To Stay.
Space
Mind Your Own Business
Hopes And Fears
Listen Carefully To What Country People Call Mother Wit. In Those Homely Sayings Are Couched The Collective Wisdom Of Generations.
Mother
Country
People
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
Continue To Be Bold, Courageous. Try To Choose The Wisest Thing And Once You've Chosen The Wisest Thing Go Out And Try To Achieve It. Be It.
Inspiring
Loving Life
Thoughtful
If I Could Give You One Thought, It Would Be To Lift Someone Up. Lift A Stranger Up--lift Her Up. I Would Ask You, Mother And Father, Brother And Sister, Lovers, Mother And Daughter, Father And Son, Lift Someone. The Very Idea Of Lifting Someone Up Will Lift You, As Well.
Daughter
Mother
Brother
When We Cast Our Bread Upon The Waters We Can Presume That Someone Downstream Whose Face We Will Never Know Will Benefit From Our Action, As We Who Are Downstream From Another Will Profit From The Grantor's Gift.
Water
Benefits
Our Actions
We Grow Despite The Horror That We Feed Upon Our Own Tomorrow. We Grow.
Tomorrow
Horror
Grows
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
Black People Comprehend The South. We Understand Its Weight. It Has Rested On Our Backs... I Knew That My Heart Would Break If Ever I Put My Foot Down On That Soil, Moist, Still, With Old Hurts. I Had To Face The Fear/loathing At Its Source Or It Would Consume Me Whole.
Hurt
Heart
Feet
Hold Those Things That Tell Your History And Protect Them. During Slavery, Who Was Able To Read Or Write Or Keep Anything? The Ability To Have Somebody To Tell Your Story To Is So Important. It Says: 'i Was Here. I May Be Sold Tomorrow. But You Know I Was Here.'
Life Changing
Writing
Important
When I Love Somebody, I Like Him To Be Around; I Like Him To Take Me Out To Dinner; I Like To Look At The Sunset With Him. But If Not, I Love Him And I Hope He's Looking At The Same Sun I Am. Loving Someone Liberates The Lover As Well As The Beloved. And That Kind Of Love Comes With Age. Some Of This Wisdom Came To Me After I Was 50 Or 60.
Sunset
I Love Him
Loving Someone
One Isn't Born With Courage. One Develops It By Doing Small Courageous Things.
Courageous
Born
Courage Is The Most Important Of All The Virtues, Without It, You Can Practice No Other.
Practice
Important
Virtue
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
Growing Up At My Grandmother's Table, She Always Had Rice. She Might Do Something As Exotic As Potatoes Or Spaghetti, But There Was Still Always Rice, Just In Case You Needed A Little Rice Fix.
Growing Up
Grandmother
Exotic
I Am Never Proud To Participate In Violence, Yet I Know That Each Of Us Must Care Enough For Ourselves That We Can Be Ready And Able To Come To Our Own Defence When And Wherever Needed.
Care
Proud
Able
Each Person Deserves A Day Away In Which No Problems Are Confronted, No Solutions Searched For.
Relax
Taking A Break
Problem
I Believe That Quality Level Is Determined Primarily By The Actual Design Of The Product Itself, Not By Quality Control In The Production Process.
Believe
Design
Quality
Poetry Helps My Soul Escape Its Encasement.
Soul
Helping
My Soul
If Funkytown Was A Trailerpark, This Guy Would Be A Double-wide.
Guy
Would Be
Wide
One Of The Problems We Have As Writers Is We Don't Take Ourselves Seriously While Writing; Being Serious Is Setting Aside A Time And Saying If It Comes, Good; If It Doesn't Come, Good, I'll Just Sit Here.
Writing
Serious
Problem
The Writer Has To Take The Most Used, Most Familiar Objects - Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adverbs - Ball Them Together And Make Them Bounce, Turn Them A Certain Way And Make People Get Into A Romantic Mood; And Another Way, Into A Bellicose Mood. I'm Most Happy To Be A Writer.
People
Together
Nouns
It Is Time For Parents To Teach Young People Early On That In Diversity There Is Beauty And There Is Strength.
Strength
Educational
Teaching
When We Know Better, We Do Better.
Climate Change
Knows
The Black Female Is Assaulted In Her Tender Years By All Those Common Forces Of Nature At The Same Time She Is Caught In The Tripartite Crossfire Of Masculine Prejudice, White Illogical Hate And Black Lack Of Power.
Inspirational
Motivational
Hate
The Idea Of Overcoming Is Always Fascinating To Me. It's Fascinating Because Few Of Us Realize How Much Energy We Have Expended Just To Be Here Today. I Don't Think We Give Ourselves Enough Credit For The Overcoming.
Thinking
Ideas
Giving
I Want To Write So Well That A Person Is 30 Or 40 Pages In A Book Of Mine ... Before She Realizes She's Reading.
Book
Reading
Writing
There Is A World Of Difference Between Facts And The Truth. You Can Have So Many Facts That You Don't Deal With The Truth. You Never Get To The Truth. You Have The Places Where, The People Who, The Times When, The Reasons Why, The Methods How - Blah Blah. And Never Get To The Human Truth. The Human Truth Is As Elusive As The Air. And As Important As The Air.
Air
Differences
People
Achievement Brings Its Own Anticlimax.
Achievement
Out Of The Huts Of History's Shame I Rise.
Shame
Huts
I've Had Rainbows In My Clouds.
Clouds
Rainbow
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
The Truth Is, No One Of Us Can Be Free Until Everybody Is Free.
Truth Is
The Only Way You Can Be A Mark Is If You Want Something For Nothing. If You're Greedy, You're Set Up.
Want Something
Way
Greedy
There Is An Amazing Something In The American Psyche Which Speaks About Courage, And It Says, 'yes I Can,' ... Yes, We Will Overcome It All Because We Have The Spirit To Do So.
Yes I Can
Overcoming
Spirit
There Are Those Who Say That Poets Should Use Her And His Art To Change The World. I'd Agree With That, But I Think Everybody Should Do That. I Think The Chef And The Baker And The Candlestick Maker - I Think Everybody Should Be Hoping To Make It A Better World.
Art
Thinking
Bakers
Each Of Us, Famous Or Infamous, Is A Role Model For Somebody, And If We Aren't, We Should Behave As Though We Are -- Cheerful, Kind, Loving, Courteous. Because You Can Be Sure Someone Is Watching And Taking Deliberate And Diligent Notes.
Role Models
Cheerful
Roles
Sometimes Guns Really Matter. Protecting Those Who Need Protection - Children, Women, Minorities In Rough Parts Of Town, Old Folks Living In Places Where Cops Aren't Nearby. Guns Are True Empowerment For The Powerless.
Children
Gun
Empowerment
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.
Beautiful
Football
People
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
Few, If Any, Survive Their Teens. Most Surrender To The Vague But Murderous Pressure Of Adult Conformity.
Adults
Teens
Pressure
Number Of Things Happen After I Was 50. One, You Are Hopefully Secure In What You Want To Do - Which Means That You Don't Spend A Lot Of Time Chewing On Your Knuckles About Your Reason For Being Here.also, You're At Your Most Beautiful. No Woman Is Ever More Beautiful Than She Is At 50.
Beautiful
Mean
Numbers
The Question Is Not How To Survive, But How To Thrive With Passion, Compassion, Humor And Style.
Life
Success
Passion
The Truth Brings The Past Into The Present And Prepares Us For The Future. That's What Truth Does
Past
Past Present Future
Doe
You Build Your 'courage Muscle' Daily, By Being Courageous In Little Things. Just Do Right.
Littles
Courageous
Little Things
But A Caged Bird Stands On The Grave Of Dreams.
Dream
Powerful
Bird
It’s The Fire In My Eyes, And The Flash Of My Teeth, The Swing In My Waist, And The Joy In My Feet. I’m A Woman Phenomenally.
Eye
Fire
Swings
Nothing Hurts More Than Realizing They Meant Everything To You, But You Meant Nothing To Them.
Sad Love
Hurt
Realizing
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