"Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God." - Maya Angelou

I suspect that bloggers everywhere are taking note of the passing of Maya Angelou today.  This woman of beauty and wisdom is one of five poets and authors who have a dedicated file on my computer for their words that I want to remember.

A favorite gem,

What is a fear of living? It's being preeminently afraid of dying. It is not doing what you came here to do, out of timidity and spinelessness. The antidote is to take full responsibility for yourself - for the time you take up and the space you occupy. If you don't know what you're here to do, then just do some good.

Some of you may remember that I have been an early morning walker at a nearby park since last spring.  Mid-winter was a bit of a challenge and I am thankful to be back with my  rhythm.  This morning, however, I had trouble getting out of the house and away from my office even at an early hour.  I was thinking about everything I had to get done this day.  It seemed there was no time for the "quietude" in  which God speaks to me.  I forced myself into the woods and things settled for me just a bit bringing the clarity I needed to fully live into the particular space that I occupy.

This act of "always beginning again" takes a lot of courage some days. It is one of those phrases that sounds so great when you hear it and, yet, takes considerable intention and prayer to make it a reality in one's life.  Those impacted by a chronic diagnosis that demands to be tended to every minute of every day must make a choice to begin again in each of those minutes.  I do not fall into that camp at this point in time but I have been there often.  It is never far from my memory.  

To take full responsibility for ourselves is no easy task and is not for the faint of heart.  We are here for such a short time.  Some of us become prolific and well known like Maya Angelou. Others of us engage in the simple daily activity of "doing good."  It is all important and carries impact for the world at large.

Take a moment today to bring to mind Ms. Angelou and any other writer or poet who has inspired you.  Their words carry such potential but if not put into practice for our own unique story, they are simply words on the page.  The potential is unrealized.  What can you do this day, in the midst of your current life story, to begin again and make a choice to do good somewhere for someone?  May you hear the voice of God in that act of doing good.