I was sad to read this week of the passing of the great American writer and activist Maya Angelou. Readers of my novels and followers of my Twitter feed will know that I am something of a collector of quotations, and over the years several of Maya’s quotes have been added to my notebook of wisdom. She was a lady full of passion, honesty and courage, and she was also a wonderful writer – a person to inspire indeed.

Today, I’m sharing some of my favourite Maya Angelou quotations:

• Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.
• If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.
• It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.
• I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
• I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
• My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
• Nothing will work unless you do.
• There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
• Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.
• We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
• You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

What a legacy this writer leaves to those writers, women, people who follow, and what a comfort her words must be now to her family.

Which quotation most inspires you? I would love to hear your thoughts.