Maya Angelou Quotes

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.

A societies needs determines their ethics

I believe everything is energy. I believe that the meal you serve yourself, you prepare, is energy. And if you serve it to your family, it's your gift of energy to them.

I became the kind of parent my mother was to me.

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.

At 50, I began to know who I was. It was like waking up to myself.

I have need of a friend. There is one and only one who will give the air from his failing lungs for my body's mend. And that one is my love.

I thought if I could face the worst danger voluntarily, and triumph, I would forever have power over it.

Black women have not historically stood in the pulpit, but that doesn't undermine the fact that they built the churches and maintain the pulpits.

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.

Reality has changed chameleonlike before my eyes so many times that I have learned, or am learning, to trust almost anything except what appears to be so.

We agreed that great men and women should be forced to live as long as possible. The reverence they enjoyed was a life sentence, which they could neither revoke nor modify.

jealousy is conceived only in insecurity and must be nourished in fear.

If our children are to approve of themselves, they must see that we approve of ourselves.

Mostly, what I have learned so far about aging, despite the creakiness of one's bones and cragginess of one's once-silken skin, is this: Do it. By all means, do it.

I am capable of what every other human is capable of. This is one of the great lessons of war and life.

We must create a climate where people agree that human beings are more alike than unalike. The only way to do that is through education.

Do not be wedded forever to fear, yoked eternally to brutishness.

You dwell in whitened castles with deep and poisoned moats and cannot hear the curses which fill your children's throats.

Moderation in all things. And even moderation in moderation. Don't get too much moderation, you know?

Faith is the evidence of the unseen.

No one can take the place of a friend, no one.

The truth will lead me to all.

Until blacks and whites see each other as brother and sister, we will not have parity. It's very clear.

Each of us has that right, that possibility, to invent ourselves daily.

We need to not be in denial about what we've done, what we've come through. It will help us if we all do that.

Modesty is a learned affectation. It's no good. Humility is great, because humility says, 'There was someone before me. I'm following in somebody's footsteps.'

Hatred is the ballast of the rock which lies upon our necks and underfoot.

I might have it at six-fifteen a.m. just as soon as I get in, but usually it's about eleven o'clock when I'll have a glass of sherry.

If I wanted to write, I had to be willing to develop a kind of concentration found mostly in people awaiting execution. I had to learn technique and surrender my ignorance.

Each time a dancer moves devoutly or a composer faithfully searches the silence for the veiled melodies, eternity is engaged.

I'm a spring leaf trembling in anticipation.

Never, never let a person know you're frightened. And a group of them ... absolutely never. Fear brings out the worst in everybody.

The woman who truly intends to live a good life is already living phenomenally since intent is part of the achievement.

And one of my absolute favorite quotes of all-time, one that I've adopted as one of my greatest life mottos: Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: "I'm with you kid. Let's go."

You can only accomplish what I really love. Do not take the money as a goal. Instead, pursue the things you passionate about, and do good to others can not take my eyes off you

My grandmother told me that every good thing I do helps some human being in the world. I believed her 50 years ago and still do.

I read the Bible to myself; I'll take any translation, any edition, and read it aloud, just to hear the language, hear the rhythm, and remind myself how beautiful English is.

It may in fact be utterly impossible to be successful without helping others to become successful.

If you're a human being, you can attempt to do what other human beings have done. We don't understand talent any more than we understand electricity.

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.

If you do not like anything, alter it. If you can not change it, adjust your mindset. Will not complain.

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!

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.

Today, the first & last of every Tree/ Speaks to humankind. Come to me, here beside the River.

We are loved by Love itself. There is nothing good that we can't do.

We do the best we can with what we know, and when we know better, we do better.

You might encounter defeats but you must never be defeated... Love a lot. Laugh a lot at the silliest things and be very serious... love life.

At our best, we're all teachers

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.