I wanted to share a clip from a conversation between two people I admire, author Maya Angelou and comedian Dave Chappelle:

Dave: You have lived such an amazing life, and done things that many would say were impossible. What do you attribute this to?

Maya: I attribute it to love. Love is a condition so powerful, it may be that which holds the stars in the firmament.

She spoke these words very slowly, with such conviction, as if she really wanted them to land inside us, because as she says “words are things that become part of us.”

In this same interview, she spoke of how courage is the most important virtue because without it, we would not be able to love, or admit when we change our mind about something.

I loved hearing this, particularly at this volatile moment in time, when it seems no matter what someone says, someone else will not like it.

Negating and attacking others for their point of view shuts down our capacity to express, and to listen and learn from each other. 

When we are willing to listen – we learn, and we begin to see beyond our differences to what is true for all of us, and how in Maya’s words, “we are more alike than different.”

I feel the force of love emanating from Maya when she speaks. It reminds me of something that Victor Frankel, a Nazi camp survivor, wrote… ‘those who would bring light, must endure burning.’

It seems to me that Maya’s light comes from her courage to face, feel, and transform her pain into art, becoming the potent voice for love and liberation that she is. Even though she is no longer here in body, her Soul force lives on in those she inspires.

Courage is a quality of heart that recognizes the truth that love will ultimately prevail over injustice and tyranny of every kind, precisely because it is the truth of what we are.

Finding the courage to speak of love as the answer, continues to grow me into the human I aspire to become.

We all need to be reminded, particularly in this time of so much change, of what is real and true about our human nature. I believe we learn best in relation to others, in an environment where we feel safe to speak and discover what is true for each of us.

I am very grateful to be creating space for people to speak, to the challenges, and the joys of living from an open, un-defended heart.

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