Life with most teenagers was like having a low-grade bladder infection. It hurts, but you had to tough it out.
Anne LamottRead
... the reason life works at all is that not everyone in your tribe is nuts on the same day. [pp. 65-66]
Interpretation
Life is manageable because not everyone is struggling with their issues simultaneously.
This quote by Anne Lamott emphasizes the importance of diverse perspectives and personal challenges within a community. It suggests that the variety of experiences and states of mind among individuals allows for support and balance in life, thereby making it easier to navigate through difficult times.
In practice
In a speech about resilience and community, this quote could serve to illustrate how diverse experiences help us cope with challenges.
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.
Imagine" he said, "never even thinking, 'We are alone,' simply because it has never occurred to you to think that there's any other way to be.
Ancient laws remain in force long after the people have the power to change them.
People first feel things without noticing them, then notice them with inner distress and disturbance, and finally reflect on them with a clear mind.
I am a violent man who has learned not to be violent and regrets his violence.
We start out a million years ago in a small community on some grassy plain; we hunt animals, have children, and develop a rich social, sexual, and intellectual life, but we know almost nothing about our surroundings.
There is a world inside the world.
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