Life with most teenagers was like having a low-grade bladder infection. It hurts, but you had to tough it out.
Anne LamottRead
...because when people have seen you at their worst, you don't have to put on the mask as much.
Interpretation
True connection with others means being vulnerable and authentic.
This quote by Anne Lamott emphasizes the importance of authentic relationships built on vulnerability. When people have witnessed both your strengths and weaknesses, it creates an environment where you can be yourself without the need to hide behind a facade, thus fostering deeper and more genuine connections.
In practice
In a speech about mental health, I referenced this quote to highlight the importance of being open with friends.
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.
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.
A chord, stronger or weaker, is snapped asunder in every parting, and time's busy fingers are not practiced in re-splicing broken ties. Meet again you may; will it be in the same way? With the same sympathies? With the same sentiments? Will the souls, hurrying on in diverse paths, unite once more, as if the interval had been a dream? Rarely, rarely!
Men have always detested women's gossip because they suspect the truth: their measurements are being taken and compared.
Sexuality poorly repressed unsettles some families; well repressed, it unsettles the whole world.
In fact, the class divide in the black community is now seen by some as a permanent aspect of our existence.
Love or hatred must constantly increase between two persons who are always together; every moment fresh reasons are found for loving or hating better.
I believe that in the long run, separation between Israel and the Palestinians is the best solution for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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