![]() And yet, Angelou persisted as she wrote in what is perhaps her most famous poem, “ Still I Rise.” These events shaped her but they didn’t define or stop her. Even after she recovered, her life remained tumultuous, both in her personal choices (working as the first black streetcar conductor at age 16) and the the world around her, as when the assassinations of her friends and colleagues Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., devastated her. Angelou’s childhood was unpredictable - many moves and many homes - and included a period of devastating violence that left her mute for almost five years. “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”ĭr. Angelou’s deep understanding of these qualities. ![]() In my work helping people develop the skills they need to become more resilient to the stressors and pressures of their lives, be they large or small, I have come to know, beyond a doubt, that resilience, creativity, and generosity are key qualities in coping with stress and crafting a meaningful life. It was grounded in a belief that we ought to help each other sing if we have a song - and that everyone has a song. Her creativity wasn’t about how much better she was than everyone else it was inclusive. Her many works of art and scholarship are part of her widely recognized greatness, but I think the “magnificent” part is related to my second thought: creating meaningful lives. She didn’t just survive the significant trauma of her early life she made something magnificent of that life. She became, for so many, a symbol of resilience - the capacity to persist in the face of hardship and adversity - and beyond that a symbol of boundless creativity. ![]() The first was, Is there anything this woman couldn’t do?Īnd the second thing I realized, as social and traditional media overflowed with tributes and expressions of gratitude for her life and work, was this: Maya Angelou helped people feel like they were possible of living great, meaningful lives. When poet, memoirist, screenwriter, film director, jazz singer, dancer, professor, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou died last week at the age of 86, I reflected on two thoughts.
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