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Anne Lamott Quotes - Page 10

All Quotes Acceptance Age Animation Anxiety Art Atheist Awakening Belief Caring Certainty Character Children Church Commitment Community Culture Dancing Discipline Doubt Drinking Earth Effort Energy Expectations Faith Fear Feelings Giving Giving Up God Goodness Grace Gratitude Grief Grieving Hardship Hate Healing Heart Heaven Home Hurt Inspiration Inspirational Inspiring Intuition Jesus Joy Laughter Life Loss Lying Magic Makeup Mask Memories Morning Mountain Pain Parenting Past Perfectionism Prayer Progress Reading Reality Recovery Resentment Running Self Esteem Shame Silence Singing Son Soul Spring Struggle Students Suffering Sunday Tea Understanding Vision Waiting Water Worry Writing

I don't write about the intimate details of my cousins and aunts and uncles, and my mother and my father because it's not right to, for me.

I don't write about the intimate details of my cousins and aunts and uncles, and my mother and my father because it's not right to, for me.

Mother, Cousin, Uncles

Interview with Austin Allen, bigthink.com. April 6, 2010.

There are moments when I am writing when I think that if other people knew how I felt right now, they’d burn me at the stake for feeling so good, so full, so much intense pleasure.

Writing, Thinking, People

Anne Lamott (2007). “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life”, p.233, Anchor

My idea of absolute happiness is to be in bed on a rainy day, with my blankie, my cat, and my dog.

Dog, Cat, Rainy Day

I just try to love and serve everyone, and bring everyone water, and lend an ear; that's what Jesus said to do.

Jesus, Water, Trying

There's a lovely Hasidic story of a rabbi who always told his people that if they studied the Torah, it would put Scripture on their hearts. One of them asked, "Why on our hearts, and not in them?" The rabbi answered, "Only God can put Scripture inside. But reading sacred text can put it on your heart, and then when your hearts break, the holy words will fall inside.

Fall, Reading, Heart

Anne Lamott (2006). “Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith”, p.73, Penguin

Pastor Veronica told the story of a sparrow lying in the street with its legs straight up in the air, straining. a warhorse walks up to it, and says, 'What on earth are you doing?' The sparrow replies, 'I heard the sky was falling, and I wanted to help.'The warhorse sneers-- 'Do you really think you're going to hold back the sky, with those scrawny little legs?' And the sparrow says, 'One does what one can.'

Lying, Fall, Thinking

Left to my own devices, my first inclination is to mess in other people's lives. I secretly believe my whole family, and really the whole world, is my responsibility.

Believe, Responsibility, People

"Anne Lamott's directions for grandparents: 'Some Assembly Required'". Interview With Katia Hetter, www.cnn.com. April 6, 2012.

I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so. I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all it is cracked up to be. But writing is.

Writing, People, Trying

Anne Lamott (2007). “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life”, p.26, Anchor

Honesty is not necessarily interesting. I don't want to hear about your dreams or your acid trips, probably unless you make them really interesting.

Dream, Honesty, Interesting

Interview with Austin Allen, bigthink.com. April 6, 2010.

As a Christian and a feminist, the most important message I can carry and fight for is the sacredness of each human life, and reproductive rights for all women are a crucial part of that. It is a moral necessity that we not be forced to bring children into the world for whom we cannot be responsible and adoring and present. We must not inflict life on children who will be resented; we must not inflict unwanted children on society.

Christian, Children, Fighting

Anne Lamott (2008). “Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith”, p.81, Penguin

I used to tell my writing students that they must write the books they wished they could come upon - because then the books they hungered and thirsted for would exist.

Book, Writing, Students

After a while the middle-aged person who lives in her head begins to talk to her soul, the kid.

Kids, Soul, Middle

Anne Lamott (1986). “Joe Jones”, Ballantine Books

Most of me was glad when my mother died. She was a handful, but not in a cute, festive way. More in a life-threatening way, that had caused me a long time ago to give up all hope of ever feeling good about having had her as a mother.

Cute, Mother, Giving Up

Her purse was a weight, ballast; it tethered her to the earth as her mind floated away.

Mind, Weight, Earth

Anne Lamott (2006). “Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith”, p.49, Penguin

Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist's true friend.

True Friend, Mean, Artist

Anne Lamott (2007). “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life”, p.32, Anchor

Then the singing enveloped me. It was furry and resonant, coming from everyone's very heart. There was no sense of performance or judgment, only that the music was breath and food.

Music, Heart, Singing

Anne Lamott (2000). “Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith”, p.46, Anchor

Nothing can be delicious when you are holding your breath.

Breaths, Delicious

Anne Lamott (2014). “Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace”, p.37, Penguin

When we search for something larger than our own selves to hook into, we can come through whatever life throws at us.

Self, Hook

For too long, and despite what people told me, I had fallen for what the culture said about beauty, youth, features, heights, weights, hair textures, upper arms.

Hair, Long, People

Anne Lamott (2008). “Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith”, p.59, Penguin

One of the gifts of being a writer is that it gives you an excuse to do things, to go places and explore. Another is that writing motivates you to look closely at life, at life as it lurches by and tramps around.

Writing, Giving, Looks

Anne Lamott (2007). “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life”, p.12, Anchor

If you are a writer, or want to be a writer, this is how you spend your days--listening, observing, storing things away, making your isolation pay off. You take home all you've taken in, all that you've overheard, and you turn it into gold. (Or at least you try.)

Taken, Home, Listening

Anne Lamott (2007). “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life”, p.66, Anchor

Any plot you impose on your characters will be onomatopoetic: PLOT. I say don't worry about plot. Worry about the characters. Let what they say or do reveal who they are, and be involved in their lives, and keep asking yourself, Now what happens? The development of relationship creates plot.

Character, Worry, Plot

Anne Lamott (2007). “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life”, p.54, Anchor

I said that I thought the secret of life was obvious: be here now, love as if your whole life depended on it, find your life's work, and try to get hold of a giant panda. If you had a giant panda in your back yard, anything could go wrong — someone could die, or stop loving you, or you could get sick — and if you could look outside and see this adorable, ridiculous, boffo panda, you'd start to laugh; you'd be so filled with thankfulness and amusement that everything would be O.K. again.

Adorable, Sick, Laughing

Here's how I became myself: mess, failure, mistakes, disappointments, and extensive reading; limbo, indecision, setbacks, addiction, public embarrassment, and endless conversations with my best women friends; the loss of people without whom I could not live, the loss of pets that left me reeling, dizzying betrayals but much greater loyalty, and overall, choosing as my motto William Blake's line that we are here to learn to endure the beams of love.

Loyalty, Disappointment, Betrayal

They believe that if they do get published, a wonderful new life is in store. It will turn out that deep down they are really valuable people and will have lots of money from now on and really cool people like Ethan Hawke will be dropping by all the time. But it's a lie. Being a published writer will make them long to be ONLY as mentally ill as they are now. Their current level of obsession and doubt and self-loathing will look like the good old days. Honest.

Lying, Believe, Self

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