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Anne Lamott

Other
E.L. Doctorow said once said that 'Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.' You don't have to see where you're going, you don't have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you. This is right up there with the best advice on writing, or life, I have ever heard.
From Bird by Bird
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational, Life
Mine was a patchwork God, sewn together from bits of rag and ribbon, Eastern and Western, pagan and Hebrew, everything but the kitchen sink and Jesus.
From Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Religion
Laughter is carbonated holiness.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Funny, Inspirational
Hope is not about proving anything. It's about choosing to believe this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim, bleak shit anyone can throw at us.
From Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Hope
It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools - friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty - and said 'do the best you can with these, they will have to do'. And mostly, against all odds, they do.
From Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Life
I realized I was going to get through this disappointing service, and anyway, you have to be somewhere: better here, where I have heard truth spoken so often, than, say, at the DMV, or home alone, orbiting my own mind. And it's good to be out where others can see you, so you can't be your ghastly spoiled self. It forces you to act slightly more elegantly, and this improves your thoughts, and thereby the world.
From Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Religion
The road to enlightenment is long and difficult, and you should try not to forget snacks and magazines.
From Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Funny, Inspirational
Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.
From Bird by Bird
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Life
Help" is a prayer that is always answered. It doesn't matter how you pray--with your head bowed in silence, or crying out in grief, or dancing. Churches are good for prayer, but so are garages and cars and mountains and showers and dance floors. Years ago I wrote an essay that began, "Some people think that God is in the details, but I have come to believe that God is in the bathroom.
From Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational
...most of the time, all you have is the moment, and the imperfect love of the people around you.
From Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational
If you are mesmerized by televised stupidity, and don't get to hear or read stories about your world, you can be fooled into thinking that the world isn't miraculous--and it is.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Television
Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.
From Bird by Bird
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Funny, Inspirational
It's good to do uncomfortable things. It's weight training for life.
From Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Life
Your problem is how you are going to spend this one and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational
I think joy and sweetness and affection are a spiritual path. We're here to know God, to love and serve God, and to be blown away by the beauty and miracle of nature. You just have to get rid of so much baggage to be light enough to dance, to sing, to play. You don't have time to carry grudges; you don't have time to cling to the need to be right.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational
You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Funny, Religion
E.L. Doctorow said once said that 'Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.' You don't have to see where you're going, you don't have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you. This is right up there with the best advice on writing, or life, I have ever heard.
From Bird by Bird
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational, Life
Mine was a patchwork God, sewn together from bits of rag and ribbon, Eastern and Western, pagan and Hebrew, everything but the kitchen sink and Jesus.
From Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Religion
Laughter is carbonated holiness.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Funny, Inspirational
Hope is not about proving anything. It's about choosing to believe this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim, bleak shit anyone can throw at us.
From Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Hope
It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools - friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty - and said 'do the best you can with these, they will have to do'. And mostly, against all odds, they do.
From Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Life
I realized I was going to get through this disappointing service, and anyway, you have to be somewhere: better here, where I have heard truth spoken so often, than, say, at the DMV, or home alone, orbiting my own mind. And it's good to be out where others can see you, so you can't be your ghastly spoiled self. It forces you to act slightly more elegantly, and this improves your thoughts, and thereby the world.
From Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Religion
The road to enlightenment is long and difficult, and you should try not to forget snacks and magazines.
From Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Funny, Inspirational
Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.
From Bird by Bird
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Life
Help" is a prayer that is always answered. It doesn't matter how you pray--with your head bowed in silence, or crying out in grief, or dancing. Churches are good for prayer, but so are garages and cars and mountains and showers and dance floors. Years ago I wrote an essay that began, "Some people think that God is in the details, but I have come to believe that God is in the bathroom.
From Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational
...most of the time, all you have is the moment, and the imperfect love of the people around you.
From Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational
If you are mesmerized by televised stupidity, and don't get to hear or read stories about your world, you can be fooled into thinking that the world isn't miraculous--and it is.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Television
Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.
From Bird by Bird
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Funny, Inspirational
It's good to do uncomfortable things. It's weight training for life.
From Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Life
Your problem is how you are going to spend this one and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational
I think joy and sweetness and affection are a spiritual path. We're here to know God, to love and serve God, and to be blown away by the beauty and miracle of nature. You just have to get rid of so much baggage to be light enough to dance, to sing, to play. You don't have time to carry grudges; you don't have time to cling to the need to be right.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational
You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Funny, Religion
E.L. Doctorow said once said that 'Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.' You don't have to see where you're going, you don't have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you. This is right up there with the best advice on writing, or life, I have ever heard.
From Bird by Bird
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational, Life
Mine was a patchwork God, sewn together from bits of rag and ribbon, Eastern and Western, pagan and Hebrew, everything but the kitchen sink and Jesus.
From Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Religion
Laughter is carbonated holiness.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Funny, Inspirational
Hope is not about proving anything. It's about choosing to believe this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim, bleak shit anyone can throw at us.
From Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Hope
It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools - friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty - and said 'do the best you can with these, they will have to do'. And mostly, against all odds, they do.
From Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Life
I realized I was going to get through this disappointing service, and anyway, you have to be somewhere: better here, where I have heard truth spoken so often, than, say, at the DMV, or home alone, orbiting my own mind. And it's good to be out where others can see you, so you can't be your ghastly spoiled self. It forces you to act slightly more elegantly, and this improves your thoughts, and thereby the world.
From Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Religion
The road to enlightenment is long and difficult, and you should try not to forget snacks and magazines.
From Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Funny, Inspirational
Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.
From Bird by Bird
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Life
Help" is a prayer that is always answered. It doesn't matter how you pray--with your head bowed in silence, or crying out in grief, or dancing. Churches are good for prayer, but so are garages and cars and mountains and showers and dance floors. Years ago I wrote an essay that began, "Some people think that God is in the details, but I have come to believe that God is in the bathroom.
From Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational
...most of the time, all you have is the moment, and the imperfect love of the people around you.
From Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational
If you are mesmerized by televised stupidity, and don't get to hear or read stories about your world, you can be fooled into thinking that the world isn't miraculous--and it is.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Television
Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.
From Bird by Bird
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Funny, Inspirational
It's good to do uncomfortable things. It's weight training for life.
From Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Life
Your problem is how you are going to spend this one and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational
I think joy and sweetness and affection are a spiritual path. We're here to know God, to love and serve God, and to be blown away by the beauty and miracle of nature. You just have to get rid of so much baggage to be light enough to dance, to sing, to play. You don't have time to carry grudges; you don't have time to cling to the need to be right.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Inspirational
You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.
NOT YET RATING
▼
Topic: Funny, Religion