As a tribute to Maya Angelou, I dedicate this Thursday musing to her and the generosity of her words. She will be missed. Here are some of her words that resonated with me.

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.

You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.

The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.

It is sad but true that sometimes we need the tragedy to help us to see how human we are and how we are more alike than we are different.

This a a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.