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.

This post pays tribute to the the very inspirational Maya Angelou, who died this week. Maya was a poet, writer, storyteller, essayist, activist, singer, dancer, actress, composer. Maya was Hollywood's first female black director and as a civil rights activist she worked for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. 

In 1993 President Bill Clinton invited Maya to write and read the first inaugural poem. Americans all across the country watched as she read "On the Pulse of Morning," which begins "A Rock, a River, a Tree" and calls for peace, racial and religious harmony, and social justice for people of different origins, incomes, genders, and sexual orientations. In 2010, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., by President Barack Obama. Angelou was awarded over 50 honorary degrees.


 
Angelou’s most famous work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), deals with her early years in Arkansas, where she lived with her brother and paternal grandmother. In one of its most evocative (and controversial) moments, Angelou describes how she was first cuddled then raped by her mother's boyfriend when she was just seven years old. When the man was murdered by her uncles for his crime, Angelou felt responsible, and stopped talking. Angelou remained mute for five years, but developed a love for language. 

One of the things I do to take care of myself when I am feeling depleted or beaten or defeated or harassed is to listen to her recite: And Still I Rise (see YouTube below). If you don't know her work I would encourage you to go to her website: mayaangelou.com

I would like to acknowledge that some of this information has come from poetry foundation.org and I would like to dedicate this post to my beautiful friend Simon.

Thích Nhất Hạnh is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist. He lives in Plum Village Monastery in France and has published over 100 books. I have read some of Tich Nhat Hahn's books and think of him as a very enlightened person. Here are some of my favourite quotes:

To be beautiful means to be yourself. 
You don’t need to be accepted by others. 
You need to accept yourself.

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. 
Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.

Then recently I watched him on video for the first time. He exudes peace. I feel serene watching him and listening to him. Go the the Plum Village website to watch videos or listen to his teachings. I love this one on peace:  http://plumvillage.org/video/peace-is-the-way/

Pema Chdron is a Buddhist teacher, nun and mother. Her books are so beautiful, deeply moving and incredibly accessible. Some of my fav books are: When things fall apart; The places that scare you; and Start where you are. Here are three quotes from Pema's books:

We cling to a fixed idea of who we are and it cripples us.

It isn't the things that are happening to us that cause us to suffer, it's what we say to ourselves about he things that are happening.

If we want there to be peace in the world,
we have to be brave enough to soften what is
rigid in our hearts, to find the soft spot and stay
with it. We have to have that kind of courage
and take that kind of responsibility.
That is the true practice of peace.


If you want more information go to Pema's website: http://pemachodronfoundation.org

Great to see there are now hundreds of people checking out this blog each month. I would really love to hear from you all about what inspires you. What links would you like to see here on the blog? Help me to support others with inspiring talks or text or images or sites :-)

I am quite taken by the idea of practising gratitude. If you have watched the Brene Brown talks below you will know that she addresses the importance of living gratefully. Brene talks about how we live in a world dominated by 'scarcity' - a polar opposite to gratitude (I am para phrasing here). Brene says that for many of us, our first thoughts for the day are about scarcity: we haven't had enough sleep, don't have enough time, aren't thin enough, clever enough, smart enough, loved enough ......
The opportunity to practice gratitude offers a different way of being in the world. I set myself the task of practice gratitude for a week. I kept stopping and reminding myself to see the gifts I was being given. Now, not everything was a gift, there were somethings I was not grateful for - somethings were just shitty. But, there was something special about stopping and being grateful for the everyday gifts I was being given, it shifted my energy and made life more enjoyable. There is a TED talk by David Steindl-Rast posted below on the subject, you might find it interesting.
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_steindl_rast_want_to_be_happy_be_grateful