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 – everything.”
Maya Angelou
The sadness that filled my heart yesterday when I found
out about Dr. Maya Angelou’s passing, I cried so hard my colleagues thought I was
going to have a panic attack. I’m at a loss for words, I feel as though I have
lost a mother, a teacher, a confidant, a source of inspiration and a whole lot
more.
Mama Maya’s words saw me through some crippling moments of confusion, embarrassment and self-doubt, but they also propelled me forth into self-love, passion and the pursuit of happiness.
This is my word of thanks to God, for her life and her work. I may not have known her personally, but I am glad to have lived in the same time as her and I am glad I got to experience her sparkle.
Mama Maya’s words saw me through some crippling moments of confusion, embarrassment and self-doubt, but they also propelled me forth into self-love, passion and the pursuit of happiness.
This is my word of thanks to God, for her life and her work. I may not have known her personally, but I am glad to have lived in the same time as her and I am glad I got to experience her sparkle.
Rest in Peace Mama Maya, I still hope that one day our souls will collide.
A rape victim turned to grand mother, a silent apprentice turned to a noble speaker of note and an activist for humanity, an award winning very talented poet, a good friend. A teacher, a healer of broken spirits, an upliftment in difficult times. A masseuses during the arduous motives of human adversity. I wonder why Martin Luther King Jr. didn't marry her ?
ReplyDeleteHer commitment to words. A binding to the root of expressions, it's a maddening shroud and at times a battle for sanity but the words guide one through life like a compass for the soul. I deleted a long comment on one of your status I was typing, ironically I find myself here. Writing yet another text impromptu. I am hurt as well but my office is composed of software guru's and techies who have no idea what an impact a woman like Dr Maya has on society. I have tried to escape this truth, that being how words constitute me, it's in my nature to pursue them, to decipher them to make truth out of them. I have been to very source of myself with them, bruises and burns aside. The journey has been a learning curve and as such I have learned from many teachers along the way, Maya has been one of them. A strong influence, definite proof that the nature of a free woman is not like that of bucking bronco or that of a boa posed to striking and yet it is, to fashion a fierce humility, How did she do it ? On the day of her death, I let go of an ancient history, certain words she wrote came back to me the value of myself was brought into perspective.A persona running amok my subconscious, a vacant presence trying to manifest me undone... a lie disguised as a woman.
Even on the last day of her life, her teachings still have an eager student in me.
I feel now that I have failed her in many ways and it's up to me to use her teachings wisely. The best parts of me are captured in words and it is my duty to put them where they matter most. On pages in books, these words have their own journey too and the accolades that they usher in have less significance than the meaning their inspire to those who would dare to use them.
Maya still lives though... in the pages where she placed what truly lived.
Her self.
“Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.”
Well said
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