"There is no greater agony than bearing an
untold story inside you"
-Maya Angelou
Do you know her? She can do hard things and so can we.
Born into the Great Depression and a volatile family life Maya found herself bounced between her mother and grandmother's home. By the time she was three her parents divorced. Her father sent Maya and her brother on a train to live with their grandmother. At the age of seven, the children returned to live with their mother. During this time she was sexually abused and raped by her mother's boyfriend. A horrifying experience for a little girl. An experience felt by too many children. She lived in silence for the next five years, terrified her voice had murdered the man who raped her.
She found her voice and told her brother of the abuse and rape, who in turn, told her family. The boyfriend spent one day in jail before he was released and four days later he was found murdered! This twist of events, forever changed Maya. In her child's mind she believed
her words had killed the man who raped her.
Her words had killed a man! Imagine that.
She determined to never speak again and for the next five years she didn't. In her silence she was again shipped to her grandmother's home. It is from this experience that she learned to be one of life's greatest observers. Her eyes and ears catches lifes peculiarities and infractions of light.
We are given the divine power to instigate a great metamorphosis in our lives. We are not bullied by our tragedies or those around us. We are defined by the actions we take to discover our own divinity. Maya grew from victim and dysfunction to one of the worlds most beloved authors and activists, speaking out for those who could not.
What will you do with your story?
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