Maya Angelou

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

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.

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

There's a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.

Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.

I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.

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.

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.

If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die.

Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.

If you have only one smile in you give it to the people you love.

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.

I have a son, who is my heart. A wonderful young man, daring and loving and strong and kind.

Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time.

Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.

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.

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.

If we don't plant the right things, we will reap the wrong things. It goes without saying. And you don't have to be, you know, a brilliant biochemist and you don't have to have an IQ of 150. Just common sense tells you to be kind, ninny, fool. Be kind.