Tidiness makes me think of held breath, of suspended animation. Anne Lamott More Quotes by Anne Lamott More Quotes From Anne Lamott Two things put me in the spirit to give. One is that I have come to think of everyone with whom I come into contast as a patient in the emergency room. I see a lot of gaping wounds and dazed expressions. Or, as Marianne Moore put it, "The world's an orphan's home." And this feels more true than almost anything else I know. But so many of us can be soothed by writing: think of how many times you have opened a book, read one line, and said, "Yes!" And I want to give people that feeling, too, of connection, communication. Anne Lamott communication home book I don't know where to start," one [writing student] will wail. Start with your childhood, I tell them. Plug your nose and jump in, and write down all your memories as truthfully as you can. Flannery O' Connor said that anyone who has survived childhood has enough material to write for the rest of his or her life. Maybe your childhood was grim and horrible, but grim and horrible is Okay if it is well done. Don't worry about doing it well yet, though. Just get it down. Anne Lamott worry writing memories 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. Anne Lamott singing music heart You know how I always say that laughter is carbonated holiness? Well, Robin was the ultimate proof of that, and bubbles are spirit made visible. Anne Lamott holiness laughter robins Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. Anne Lamott surprise writing giving If there is one door in the castle you have been told not to go through, you must. Otherwise, you'll just be rearranging furniture in rooms you've already been in. Anne Lamott inspirational-life courage doors Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back. Anne Lamott unimportant forgiveness mean I don't want something special. I want something beautifully plain. Anne Lamott want-something design special 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.) Anne Lamott taken listening home Some people wanted to get rich or famous, but my friends and I wanted to get real. We wanted to get deep. (Also, I suppose, we wanted to get laid.) Anne Lamott rich real people Her purse was a weight, ballast; it tethered her to the earth as her mind floated away. Anne Lamott weight earth mind Perfection is shallow, unreal, and fatally uninteresting. Anne Lamott unreal shallow perfection one thing about having a baby is that each step of the way you simply cannot imagine loving him any more than you already do, because you are bursting with love, loving as much as you are humanly capable of- and then you do, you love him even more. Anne Lamott steps baby way I am going to try to pay attention to the spring. I am going to look around at all the flowers, and look up at the hectic trees. I am going to close my eyes and listen. Anne Lamott flower eye spring 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. Anne Lamott hair long people The reason I never give up hope is because everything is so basically hopeless. Anne Lamott hopeless giving-up reason It's a great time to be alive. Anne Lamott great-times alive Joy is the best makeup. But a little lipstick is a close runner-up. Anne Lamott makeup littles joy You get your confidence and intuition back by trusting yourself, by being militantly on your own side. ... Don't look at your feet to see if you are doing it right. Just dance. Anne Lamott intuition inspirational-life feet Becoming a writer is about becoming conscious. When you're conscious and writing from a place of insight and simplicity and real caring about the truth, you have the ability to throw the lights on for your reader. He or she will recognize his or her life and truth in what you say, in the pictures you have painted, and this decreases the terrible sense of isolation that we have all had too much of. Anne Lamott caring real writing
