Maya Angelou: Phenomenal Woman

Phenomenal Woman, Maya Angelou, died on this day, 2014; tho her spirit very much lives on. Her strength came from being her authentic self; no shame; no cover ups; she laid out her life for all to see in 7 autobiographies, beginning, in 1969, with: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, (up to age 17), an International success. Raped by her mother's boyfriend when she was 8. She told her brother, who told the whole family. There followed: an arrest; trial; guilty verdict & jail - for one day. 4 days later, the guy was murdered. Her child's rationale was that her voice had caused his death: her voice was deadly. She chose to be mute for 5 yrs. Thanks to her teacher, Mrs. Bertha Flowers, she developed a sense of trust; a huge appetite for reading, and a love for learning. 

I woke this morning that lying and deceit always betrays fear; fear of being found out; exposed; disliked; abandoned; rejected. Maya had suffered all these things already. And processed it all through her writing and living and loving. Integration. Authenticity has great authority. 

                 

Life had included sleeping in the back of a car at a dump; working in nightclubs and brothels; journalism; movie directing; play-writing, and so much more - way too much to condense into one titchy little blog-post. How do you capture the essence of one phenomenal life? What mattered to her? What kept her going when the world brought her down, as it did when her good friend and colleague Martin Luther was assassinated? 

She learned what she learned the hard way - by living through it; feeling it. Grief is heavy, unpredictable, ugly at times. It's brutal, as is betrayal. No-one elects to feel these things or suffer them, but it doesn't pay to not feel them; to shut down; give up. Depression does that job - for a time; then it's time to get back up. Wash, dress, and walk out the door with head held high. Collapse can come later when you get back home. She was a good cook & knew the value in eating well, and sharing a good home-cooked meal with friends around the table.

She made it a practice to learn the language of every country she visited, becoming proficient in several. She wrote with passion, tackling racism, class, social issues; supporting Martin Luther King & South African Freedom Fighters. She spoke for those who had no voice of her own: she'd been there; done that. She believed in finding common ground.

Spending a day with her in this way makes her loss all the more keenly felt. Her voice & spirit are truly needed at this time. She has left a great legacy in memories, books, essays, poetry, talks - all of them heartfelt & warming. God bless you, Maya Angelou, Phenomenal Woman; bless you for how you lived your life and shared it so generously.