The world has lost a truly extraordinary woman. Maya Angelou was an inspiration to all of us. She taught us how to treat others with kindness and that we cannot be consistently virtuous without being kind to ourselves. She made each and every woman realize they were phenomenal. She told us we could stand up against our adversaries...and make them our friends. Gave us the gift of knowing what it meant to have pride. She taught us to rise. I learned to believe a person the first time they show me who they really are, and remember it always. She made me feel as if I was the bird singing in a cage and I loved her for it!
All day, what to say? What to say about this amazing woman? This woman who bore witness to Jim Crow Laws and documented the era in song. The woman who literally wrote on the wall of society and helped tear it down to rebuild and write on it again! Her words not only heard around the world, but felt deeply in our hearts. When she spoke, everyone listened. When she wrote, we all read. She told us all we were more alike than we were unalike and we understood. Her presence was nothing short of awe inspiring, and rightfully so. You see, Maya Angelou cannot die. We may have lost her today but, hear me...she cannot die! Here's why:
She was a lyricist, award winning author, poet, and educator. Her words will echo through generation after generation. Just as loudly as they were heard amidst such activists like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Robert Kennedy. A voice...a gift from God with the strength of an army of Angels. Her speech at Coretta Scott King's Memorial Service was one of her most moving...up there with our most recent President's Inauguration. She is then and now. Past, present, and future. She is always. She transcends, or dare I say she transcended many years ago.
Born Marguarite Ann Johnson, Angelou was a living soul among us. Her spirit was visible and all encompassing. It surrounded her, shined out of her, we all saw it! Felt it! She knew things about life and could express herself like no one else could. Why? Because she rose above. Above the pettiness, the fighting, across oceans and boundaries...She was nature, she was essence, she was existentially blessed. With eyes that saw only truth and a spirit which could see each and every one of us was a butterfly...waiting to come out of our naïve cocoons and become who we were meant to be. A spirit that hadn't needed a body for years. She was pure soul. She IS soul.
Her son Gary B. Johnson, her only child, issued a statement about the author's death: 'Dr. Maya Angelou passed quietly in her home before 8:00 a.m. EST. Her family is extremely grateful that her ascension was not belabored by a loss of acuity or comprehension.
'She lived a life as a teacher, activist, artist and human being. She was a warrior for equality, tolerance and peace. The family is extremely appreciative of the time we had with her and we know that she is looking down upon us with love.'
She is now in the wind, in the trees, the earth and the sky. She is peace, she is love, she is still wise beyond wise. A woman like her comes once every thousand years. She is here. She was there. She is everywhere. A woman like her never dies!
She left us with these lasting words...
Thank you Dr. Angelou...Your Legacy Lives On...As Your Spirit, Too, Lives On!
Dr. Maya Angelou
4/4/28~5/28/14
