India.Arie Quotes

God is infinitely creative, and everyone's different, and everyone has a different path, a different lesson, a different song, a different face, a different voice.

If he ever left me, I wouldn't even be sad; no, 'cause there's a blessing in every lesson, and I'm glad that I knew him at all.

I'm still afraid of things, obviously - we're human. But I like that feeling of being afraid.

If I'm not doing anything to make a change, then I'm responsible.

Some people just don't like to be their self. I'm always looking, analyzing myself.

There is no secret, you try and never stop trying. If you have to sleep all day, and get up the next day, you keep trying. If you have to take 3 years away, do it and then come back. But it's all about trying. Not everything will work, but some things will, and you have to try.

There's hope. It doesn't cost a thing to smile. You don't have to pay to laugh. You better thank God for that.

I started dealing with my emotional pain by writing. I always had been a writer, but just not songs. Saying things on paper that I would never, ever say, and saying things to myself, admitting things to myself, about myself and my personality, just putting it on paper, is how I deal with emotional pain.

Make choices that are loving for yourself - with your diet, your relationships, and in speaking your loving truth - that are in alignment with what you want to be doing. When you see that in a person, you are seeing their passion and fulfillment, and that person feels good to you because they feel good to themselves. I know that I feel good and I think that comes across on stage; when I didn't feel good before, I think that came across on stage.

Your work is to find healing. And I find, for me, it's a little bit at a time, and eventually it's barely there. And the journey is finding what works for you and doing it.

In a world of smoke and ashes, you are milk and honey

In the quest for fortune and fame...don't forget about the simple things.

It's always sad to me when certain people are excluded from being considered beautiful... because of someone else's expectation. That bothers me.

Your real job in this world is to be you.

Strength, courage & wisdom...it's been inside of me all along.

My body is beautiful and sacred, and I'm going to celebrate it.

I choose to be authentic in everything I do

The truth, it needs no proof. Either it is or it isn't.

The worst disease in the world is hate. And the cure for hate is love.

I'm passionate about the empowerment and healing of girls and women. Where I do the most work in that regard is in my songwriting.

I'm not just making rhymes and making melodies. I'm expressing my true life force, energy.

Life is a journey, not a destination; there are no mistakes, just chances we've taken.

I cant control everything, and I dont need to

Tolerance is the seed, and the gift of pure acceptance is the tree

Over the years, I was doing what I loved to do, which is my music. But it was always a bit distorted, because I was doing the music in the way other people around me were telling me it should be done.

Anyway, in my performance style, I'm a singer-songwriter. People can call it neo-soul or R&B or whatever. But at the core, when you see me live, I'm a singer-songwriter.

I was very fortunate to have learned the transforming power of music early in life. As an adult I want to share that power by inspiring people to care about their neighbors near and far. Being a UNICEF Ambassador allows me this kind of opportunity.

The songs that I've written about Africa, and AIDS and HIV and about the power of humanitarian love, those songs, I'm gonna sing them because I know that it's real.

Things that I'm afraid to do are always about being afraid of being exposed. Every time, that's what it's always about.

There is one relationship I was in that I learned a lot from. I learned a lot from the situation about myself and about relationships and about love, about how to relate to people, about forgiveness and the stuff that comes with being in a relationship.

I do experiment with lots of different genres. In making music, I don't think of genre like, "I want to do this, because I'm going use that country music sound; I'm going use that hip-hop sound; I'm going use that acoustic [sound]." It's just making music. So now that I've traveled a lot more since I did Acoustic Soul, I'm sure that different sounds will come into place, because I have been exposed to it and I like it. But it's not so much of a conscience effort. It's mind and spirited. You know, we're humans.

There's a million ways to make people happy.

Beautiful jewelry, a beautiful room - that's what museums are - a beautiful painting, a beautiful face, it makes you feel good to look at, and that's a beautiful thing.

I say everything and I do whatever I want to do. I'm just me. The polished version of me, I suppose, because I have on clothes and makeup. But emotionally, I am very on the surface.

One of the things that I've worked my way out of doing, and I knew that I needed to, was comparing myself to other people. That just poisins everything. It all of a sudden dtermines even clothes you're going to choose to wear that day or what you're going to do with a music production or how you're going to sequence it. It poisinseverything. Your real job in the world is to be you. Comparing yourself to other people I think that hurt me more than anything. Allowing myself to go there so much in my head hurt me.

When it comes down to the song writing, I'm just very slow - very slow. Because the songs are about my life, so I'm doing emotional work on myself. As I'm writing these songs, I have to learn these lessons and dig real deep into my heart to write this stuff.

I'm not the average girl from your video and I ain't built like a supermodel but I learned to love myself unconditionally because i am a queen

Back when I had a little, I thought that I needed a lot. A little was overrated, but a lot was a little too complicated. See, zero didn't satisfy me. A million didn't make me happy. That's when I learned a lesson that it's all about your perception....THERE'S HOPE. It doesn't cost a thing to smile. You don't have to pay to laugh. Better thank God for that.

When I perform, I'm just very much just being myself.

If you give me half a chance. I'll prove this to you. I will be patient, kind, faithful and true.

I like when a teenager comes and talks to me on the street. I've been through a lot and I have a lot to share.

The thing that makes me feel most alive is knowing that there's something that I have to do that I'm afraid of.

Because of what I've chosen to do for my work in the world, almost every time that there's something that I'm afraid to do that I need to do, I have to do it in front of other people. It makes me feel exposed.

There aint no substitute for the truth, either it is or it isnt. You see the truth it needs no proof, either it is or it isnt. And you know the truth by the way you feel.

Success is clarity of my intention....and reaching that intention while being true to myself and with joy.

A person's either responsible for themselves or we're all responsible for each other.

No matter what anybody says, what matters most is what you think of yourself.

I have, my whole life, been healing the girl inside, the part of me that struggles about being a female in the world. That's why I write about the things I write about.