I Love Maya Angelou. Now in her eighties, she lives for the moment and as a good role model advises that your best years are still ahead. I wake up every day believing this, I may be 30, 40, 50, 60, living it up but my best years are still to come. I love the excerpt from an interview she had with Oprah. Then Maya was in her seventies and Oprah on track to 50.
Oprah:What's the best age?
Maya: Seventy—two! The seventies are hot.
Oprah: I'm glad you said that! I'm thinking the forties are it.
Maya: Wait till you hit the fifties!
Oprah: What's so great about the fifties?
Maya: A number of things happen. One, you are hopefully secure in what you want to do—which means that you don't spend a lot of time chewing on your knuckles about your reason for being here.
Oprah: Because you ought to know?
Maya: Yes, and you're settling into it in your fifties. Also, you're at your most beautiful. No woman is ever more beautiful than she is at 50.
Maya: Seventy—two! The seventies are hot.
Oprah: I'm glad you said that! I'm thinking the forties are it.
Maya: Wait till you hit the fifties!
Oprah: What's so great about the fifties?
Maya: A number of things happen. One, you are hopefully secure in what you want to do—which means that you don't spend a lot of time chewing on your knuckles about your reason for being here.
Oprah: Because you ought to know?
Maya: Yes, and you're settling into it in your fifties. Also, you're at your most beautiful. No woman is ever more beautiful than she is at 50.
Maya even in her eighties still writes and teaches and shares the wisdom which has made her an inspiration to women, she released her second cookbook – Great Food All Day Long:Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart earlier this year. In a recent interview, she said
......"I don’t intend to become frail — some poor little weakling of a body crawling up in a chair. I’m not going to do that, no. This is my life and as long as it’s given to me to live I’m going to live it with joy and passion and compassion, humour and gratitude"
I can go on and on about a lot of her work, but will leave it for now. In the meantime, here is a lovely poem she wrote years ago about every woman
Maya Angelou:Every woman should
enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to…
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
something perfect to wear if the employer, or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour…
a youth she’s content to leave behind….
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
a past juicy enough that she’s looking forward to
retelling it in her old age….
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ….
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra…
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
one friend who always makes her laugh… and one who lets her cry…
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family…
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal, that will make her guests feel honored…
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
a feeling of control over her destiny.
how to fall in love without losing herself.
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without; ruining the friendship…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
when to try harder… and WHEN TO WALK AWAY…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
that she can’t change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
that her childhood may not have been perfect…but its over…
what she would and wouldn’t do for love or more…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to live alone… even if she doesn’t like it…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
whom she can trust,
whom she can’t,
and why she shouldn’t take it personally…
where to go…
be it to her best friend’s kitchen table…
or a charming inn in the woods…
when her soul needs soothing…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
what she can and can’t accomplish in a day…
a month…and a year…
Have a lovely day everybody :0)
If you have a napkin, you need another napkin to receive back all the blessings you'll get. And you keep giving. Then you need a towel to receive all the gifts. And you continue giving. Finally, you need a tablecloth. And you continue giving—not stupidly, but you give. And when you give, you finally have to move out and get a second house, and a third house and a fourth..... Dr Maya Angelou
