Life with most teenagers was like having a low-grade bladder infection. It hurts, but you had to tough it out.
Anne LamottRead
We were raised to believe in books, music, and nature.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the foundational values instilled in us through literature, art, and the natural world.
Anne Lamott's quote reflects on the essential influences of books, music, and nature in shaping our beliefs and character. It suggests that these elements serve as guiding forces in our lives, nurturing our imagination, creativity, and appreciation for the world around us.
In practice
Introducing a book club with a focus on the power of literature in our lives.
Life with most teenagers was like having a low-grade bladder infection. It hurts, but you had to tough it out.
Or you might shout at the top of your lungs or whisper into your sleeve, "I hate you, God." That is a prayer too, because it is real, it is truth, and maybe it is the first sincere thought you've had in months.
Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd 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 people and circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.
It is hard to remember that you are a cherished spiritual being when you're burping up apple fritters and Cheetos.
Gorgeous, amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention: mangoes, grandnieces, Bach, ponds. This happens more often when we have as little expectation as possible. If you say, "Well, that's pretty much what I thought I'd see," you are in trouble. At that point you have to ask yourself why you are even here. [...] Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business.
...because when people have seen you at their worst, you don't have to put on the mask as much.
A day spent without the sight or sound of beauty, the contemplation of mystery, or the search of truth or perfection is a poverty-stricken day; and a succession of such days is fatal to human life.
Rest in this - it is His business to lead, command, impel, send, call... It is your business to obey, follow, move, respond.
The most important 6 inches on the battlefield is between your ears.
I bring truth to tha youth tear tha roof off tha ol' school.
To believe and to understand are not diverse things, but the same things in different periods of growth.
Whether you are an astronomer or a life scientist, geophysicist, or a pilot, you've got to be there because you believe you are good in your field, and you can contribute, not because you are going to get a lot of fame or whatever when you get back.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.