“These two things are almost all I want, but unfortunately, neither one is my strong suit. I am very strong on blame, and wish this were one of God's values, but trust, surrender? Letting go, forgiveness? Maybe just after a period of prayer, but then when the mood passes and real life rears its ugly head again? Not so much. I hate this, the fact that life is usually Chutes and Ladders, with no guaranteed gains.I cannot will myself into having these qualities, so I have to pray for them more often, if I want to be happy. I have to create the habit, just as I had to do with daily writing, and flossing.”
Anne Lamott“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.”
Anne Lamott“A nun I know once told me she kept begging God to take her character defects away from her. After years of this prayer, God finally got back to her: I'm not going to take anything away from you, you have to give it to Me.”
Anne Lamott, Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers“...the three things I cannot change are the past, the truth, and you.”
Anne Lamott, Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers“If we stay where we are, where we're stuck, where we're comfortable and safe, we die there... When nothing new can get in, that's death.”
Anne Lamott, Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers“Now, practically even better news than that of short assignments is the idea of shitty first drafts. All good writers write them.”
Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life“We must not inflict life on children who will be resented we must not inflict unwanted children on society. ”
Anne Lamott“I was raised with no religious training or influence. Except the influence was to be a moral and ethical person at the secular level. And to be a peace marcher, an activist for civil rights, peace and justice.”
Anne Lamott“Mothers are supposed to listen and, afterward, to respond with some wisdom and perspective, but these things were not my mother's strong suit.”
Anne Lamott“I love readings and my readers, but the din of voices of the audience gives me stage fright, and the din of voices inside whisper that I am a fraud, and that the jig is up. Surely someone will rise up from the audience and say out loud that not only am I not funny and helpful, but I'm annoying, and a phony.”
Anne Lamott