Learning from history (Quotes to live by)
Continuing with our series on Quotes to live by, this week lets explore some words of wisdom from Maya Angelou.
Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. A prolific writer, she published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years.
Maya lived a rich and varied life. She was also a journalist who worked in Africa, a historian, songwriter, dancer, stage and screen producer, director, performer and singer. And as an activist, she was one of the Civil Rights Movement's most prominent women, who worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and devoted her life to being a tireless voice for women and black people — and for an open-hearted vision of humanity where all could find their place.
One of the great spiritual voices of our time, Maya left behind a legacy of simple but powerful practical wisdom to inspire us.
Today's quote from Maya is about learning from history which applies equally to nations and to ourselves personally:
History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.
Maya Angelou
Along the same lines, George Santayana said:
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
And
Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know.
Pema Chodron
What lessons are we resisting or refusing to learn? The sooner we learn them, we can move onto the next challenge!
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