Tag: Maya Angelou

Rejection has nothing to do with your worth

Daily writing prompt
Are you a good judge of character?
View all responses

Today I have decided to respond to the day’s prompt which asks if I am a good judge of character. I believe that the answer is yes. I believe Maya Angelou had it right when she said:

“When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.”

Maya Angelou

I believe that people show us who they are in two ways:

1. Their Energy

We all exude an energy and for me, it’s a sensitivity to that energy that helps me understand whether I want to keep someone in my life or not. It doesn’t mean that the person is good or bad as such but it means that they are good or bad for me. If I keep getting a nagging feeling about a person when I am in their company then I walk away as that person’s agenda is probably detrimental to me in some way or is incompatible with my goals/vision for my life.  

Image: Canva

2. Their Actions

I am an “actions speak louder than words” kinda gal. And they do. No matter what people say, they will always show you who they are especially when they start getting comfortable with you. As a single woman who still dates, this is a huge help. I often find that when you start dating or just chatting to someone they will generally message you often. You will get that morning text and have that evening chat with a few messages sprinkled in-between throughout the day. The one’s worth giving a chance to are the ones who at least keep up the morning messages and evening chats. They are at least interested in a relationship and in you as a potential long term partner. The rest…that morning text is usually the first to go. Once that goes, I am out. Either that person just enjoys the chase, which is what it is, or they are just not into me and that’s ok too. I came across this quote on IG about a year or two ago: “Rejection has nothing to do worth your worth but it has everything to do with your compatibility.” I listened to it over and over and once I internalised, it became a game changer. So when someone’s actions show that they are not into me anymore or might never have been, it’s ok. It has nothing to do with my worth.

How do you decide who you allow into your world?

That’s it for today. Thanks for stopping by. Be blessed!

Still I rise – Maya Angelou

Bloganuary Day 25

Today’s Prompt: What is a song or poem that speaks to you and why?

I love the sassiness of Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise”. Whenever I read it, I read it in her voice simply because I love the way she recited it. It speaks to me on so many levels. I have been bullied. I have cried my heart out because I had not been invited to events by friends to protect the ego of another who was insecure about me. I have been looked down upon because I am a single mum and because I am not rich. Then of course there is the fact that I am a female and a person of colour working in the corporate world in a country where I am not black enough for some and of course, not white enough for others.

When I read this poem, I am reminded that despite all this, I still rise. I am able to stand on my own two feet and create a home for my son as a start. I know I do not do it alone. God has my back and surrounds me with the most amazing people to keep me rising and it is because I have realised this, I can now walk confidently through life. 

Still I Rise
BY MAYA ANGELOU

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
Maya Angelou, 
"Still I Rise" from And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems.

Daily Quote: Maya Angelou

“…let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”

Maya Angelou

To my fellow KZN and Gauteng residents. What amazing resilience we have displayed! No weapon formed against us shall prosper! No weapon formed against our beloved South Africa will prosper either. This I truly believe.

To my readers and fellow bloggers. Please could you say a prayer for South Africa tonight. Please thank God for making a way for us to stand up to those who are trying to destabilise our country. Please pray for our president and those surrounding him. May He grant them wisdom, the will, and the strength to do what is best for our country right now and going forward. Lastly, please ask God to move through our country and grant peace in our hearts so that the whisperings of those trying to sow discord amongst us falls on deaf ears. Prayer changes things. 😊 Thank you🙏

Image: Canva