By: Jen Wainwright
A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.
When you know better, you do better.
When you get, you give. When you learn, you teach.
–Maya Angelou
“Dr. Maya Angelou passed quietly in her home… She lived a life as a teacher, activist, artist and human being. She was a warrior for equality, tolerance and peace…” – from www.mayaangelou.com
Lying in bed, I found myself telling my children that someone who Mommy greatly admired had died.
My daughter, 9, asked, “What was she like?”
I said she was like this… More than what you’ll become when you grow up, more important to me than whether you become a doctor or a beautician or a baker or whatever your soul desires…I hope for you to grow to know yourself as a wise woman…to trust in yourself as a divine creation, and know that you, in your own way for exactly the traits that make you uniquely you, are phenomenal…Following the path toward your Truth, coming to know and appreciate your Self and believing in and respecting your Self — just as you are — is something Maya Angelou helped teach me, and women and men all over the world.
My son, very quiet, 5, said, “Will I grow up to be a wise woman?”
I said, “No, son. But I hope for you that you will grow into a great enough man to truly appreciate and respect and always remain in awe of the inner mystery and unique beauty of the one you get to walk through life with.”
JEN’S ZEN
— Because the damn dishes are never done. Laundry is a cruel joke. And because children are beautiful lessons in Patience and Counting. 10, 9, 8, 7 Breathe…
Read it again. Read it for the first time. Read it to your daughters and your sons… Read it to your Self.
Phenomenal Woman – by Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size But when I start to tell them, They think I’m telling lies. I say, It’s in the reach of my arms The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I’m a woman Phenomenal woman, That’s me. I walk into a room Just as cool as you please, And to a man, The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees. Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees. I say, It’s the fire in my eyes, And the flash of my teeth, The swing in my waist, And the joy in my feet. I’m a woman Phenomenal woman, That’s me. Men themselves have wondered What they see in me. They try so much But they can’t touch My inner mystery. When I try to show them They say they still can’t see. I say, It’s in the arch of my back, The sun of my smile, The ride of my breasts, The grace of my style. I’m a woman Phenomenal woman, That’s me. Now you understand Just why my head’s not bowed. I don’t shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing It ought to make you proud. I say, It’s in the click of my heels, The bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, The need of my care, ‘Cause I’m a woman Phenomenal woman, That’s me.