When I'm writing fiction, I'm sort of interested by the fact that somehow or other I can have the feeling of actually seeing things through someone else's eyes. Marilynne Robinson More Quotes by Marilynne Robinson More Quotes From Marilynne Robinson There's so much to be grateful for, words are poor things. Marilynne Robinson be-gratefulgratefulfaith It all means more than I can tell you. So you must not judge what I know by what I find words for. Marilynne Robinson judgingknowsmean Generosity is also an act of freedom, a casting off of the constraints of prudence and self-interest. Marilynne Robinson generositycasting-offself A man can know his father, or his son, and there might still be nothing between them but loyalty and love and mutual incomprehension. Marilynne Robinson loyaltyfatherson God does not need our worship. We worship to enlarge our sense of holy, so that we can feel and know the presense of the Lord, who is with us always. He said, Love is what it amounts to, a loftier love, and pleasure in a loving presence. Marilynne Robinson doelove-isneeds Ordinary things have always seemed numinous to me Marilynne Robinson numinousordinary-thingsordinary I'm amazed at what I have taken for granted. How to truly take in our situation I don't know, but I wish I had started asking myself that question earlier than I did. Marilynne Robinson takenaskingwish The Lord is more constant and far more extravagant than it seems to imply. Wherever you turn your eyes the world can shine like transfiguration. You don't have to bring a thing to it except a little willingness to see. Only, who could have the courage to see it? Marilynne Robinson shiningeyeworld The only obligation I recognize is to say what I believe to be true [ ] and to say it with kindness. I believe that is how a Christian conversation should proceed. Marilynne Robinson christiankindnessbelieve She knew that was not an honest prayer, and she did not linger over it. The right prayer would have been, Lord . . . I am miserable and bitter at heart, and old fears are rising up in me so that everything I do makes everything worse. Marilynne Robinson prayerfearheart When we did not move or speak, there was no proof that we were there at all. Marilynne Robinson proofspeakmoving I think hope is the worst thing in the world. I really do. It makes a fool of you while it lasts. And then when it's gone, it's like there's nothing left of you at all . . . except what you can't be rid of. Marilynne Robinson goneworldthinking There are a thousand thousand reasons to live this life, everyone of them sufficient Marilynne Robinson this-lifereasoninspiring Because, once alone, it is impossible to believe that one could ever have been otherwise. Loneliness is an absolute discovery. Marilynne Robinson lonelinessdiscoverybelieve I really don't know why people have so much trouble now writing about religious faith. It is true that clichés can override more interesting impulses. But the desire to find meaning, to be generous, to live well in an ethical and spiritual sense, is so widespread that it should not seem alien to people when it is expressed in the terms of traditional religion. Marilynne Robinson religiousspiritualwriting Memory is the sense of loss, and loss pulls us after it. Marilynne Robinson lossmemories I wish I could leave you certain of the images in my mind, because they are so beautiful that I hate to think they will be extinguished when I am. Well, but again, this life has its own mortal loveliness. And memory is not strictly mortal in its nature, either. It is a strange thing, after all, to be able to return to a moment, when it can hardly be said to have any reality at all, even in its passing. A moment is such a slight thing. I mean, that its abiding is a most gracious reprieve. Marilynne Robinson hatebeautifulmemories Having a sister or a friend is like sitting at night in a lighted house. Those outside can watch you if they want, but you need not see them. You simply say, "Here are the perimeters of our attention. If you prowl around under the windows till the crickets go silent, we will pull the shades. If you wish us to suffer your envious curiosity, you must permit us not to notice it." Anyone with one solid human bond is that smug, and it is the smugness as much as the comfort and safety that lonely people covet and admire. Marilynne Robinson lonelynightpeople There is a saying that to understand is to forgive, but that is an error, so Papa used to say. You must forgive in order to understand. Until you forgive, you defend yourself against the possibility of understanding. ... If you forgive, he would say, you may indeed still not understand, but you will be ready to understand, and that is the posture of grace. Marilynne Robinson errorsgraceorder The twinkling of an eye. That is the most wonderful expression. I've thought from time to time it was the best thing in life, that little incandescence you see in people when the charm of a thing strikes them, or the humor of it. 'The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart.' That's a fact. Marilynne Robinson lighteyeheart
