Favorite Quotes by Maya Angelou

I love collecting quotes, mostly because I’m fascniated with discovering how others thought about some of the things I value in my own life; creativity, courage, fear, disappointment, freedom, friendship, and living a good life. The writer, poet, and activist Maya Angelou passed away yesterday, and she was certainly one of my literary inspirations.

Here are some of my favorite quotes, all of which offer wisdom in all areas of life.

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”

“Any one of us can be a rainbow in somebody’s clouds.”

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

“You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.”

“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.”

“All great artists draw from the same resource: the human heart, which tells us that we are all more alike than we are unalike.”

“Find a beautiful piece of art. If you fall in love with Van Gogh or Matisse or John Oliver Killens, or if you fall love with the music of Coltrane, the music of Aretha Franklin, or the music of Chopin – find some beautiful art and admire it, and realize that that was created by human beings just like you, no more human, no less.”

“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.”