Lynn Neary/NPR Blog is reporting the death of Maya Angelou; arguably one of the greatest poets and individuals of our time (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/28/147369802/maya-angelou-poet-activist-and-singular-storyteller-dies-at-86). However, as countless people are noting she will live on through her poetry and her many other creative acts; acts and works, indeed a life, whose ripple effects will be long and strongly.
Beyond paying tribute to Ms. Angelou, I want to note here that her works and life provide a great illustration for coping with the uncertainties of life and assessing one's self and others. Time and time again she rose above very difficult situations to re-establish not just her previous normality but to climb to a greater level of success and a higher quality of life. And as her physical strength ebbed she fought properly against what Dylan Thomas called "the dying of the light..." more than many if not most people. She lived her dwindling moments to the fullest, having humbly tweeted wisdom to her followers just last week!
Ms. Angelou's example urges us to continue to work with what we have available, no matter how little it might be, to continue making progress in achieving a fulfilling life. When I think of her kind spirit, I wonder if any individual should be deemed a failure even if somehow she or he appears to succumb to life's difficulties; failing to achieve what they or others believe to be their potential for "success" despite the best effort they can muster. Except in law-like areas, I'm not sure it's ever fair to pass an ultimate judgement of success or failure on someone; and even then it's best when reasonable relativity reigns.
Theoretically, hope of living happily can continue until consciousnesses flees. Of course in reality a person's life may be so suppressed this possibility is nearly nonexistent. I suspect while Ms. Angelou's example continues to inspire others to strive harder at doing better than mere "survival," she was and would be sympathetic to those who experience such a large magnitude of life reversals that their probability of being able to "overcome" is nearly zero; another worthy example.
I think being presumptuous is a common and grave error, and that it would be horribly presumptuous to say someone "gave up" or "didn't give it their all" or "failed." Few if any could know all they faced and the relative improbabilities of overcoming such things.
May we be slow to judge others anymore than absolutely necessary, and even then not absolutely. We can plan for the best, but we live with hope only in as much as we can still sense a significant probability of a satisfactory future. And, perhaps this "sense" can slip away from any given person's without having a direct link to the effort put forth or not?
Life may have some absolute givens that are somewhat relative for each and every human being? Apparently, Maya Angelou took her particular givens and continued to work at beating the odds more so many of us; this is most commendable. Still others may face similar givens and work just as hard and still find the odds hopelessly stacked against them. Personally, I think Ms. Angelou would have us continue to sacrificially help these people in the way she so poetically illustrated.
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