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Anne Lamott

Anne Lamott Quotes

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Famous Anne Lamott Quotes

“I realized I was going to get through this disappointing service, and anyway, you have to be somewhere: better here, where I have heard truth spoken so often, than, say, at the DMV, or home alone, orbiting my own mind. And it's good to be out where others can see you, so you can't be your ghastly spoiled self. It forces you to act slightly more elegantly, and this improves your thoughts, and thereby the world.”

WorldMindSelfHomeForceMy OwnHeardI RealizedSpoiledDisappointingGhastly
Author:Anne Lamott
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“I took notes on the people around me, in my town, in my family, in my memory. I took notes on my own state of mind, my grandiosity, the low self-esteem. I wrote down the funny stuff I overheard. I learned to be like a ship's rat, veined ears trembling, and I learned to scribble it all down.”

PeopleMindSelfStatesStuffMemoriesMy OwnSelf EsteemLowsMy FamilyEarsTownsNotesShipsEsteemState Of MindRatsLow Self EsteemTremblingScribblesFunny Stuff
Book:Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
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“Most people's intuitions are drowned out by folk sayings. We have a moment of real feeling or insight, and then we come up with a folk saying that captures the insight in a kind of wash. The intuition may be real and ripe, fresh with possibilities, but the folk saying is guaranteed to be a cliche, stale and self-contained.”

PeopleKindMayRealSelfMomentsFeelingsPossibilityFolksCome UpInsightIntuitionCaptureBeing RealClicheRipeStaleSelf ContainedReal Feelings
Book:Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
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“Now. Maybe you think it is arrogant or self centered, or ridiculous for me to believe that God bothered to wiggle a cheap bolt out of my new used car because he or she needed to keep me away for a few days until just the moment when my old friend most needed me to help her mother move into whatever comes next. Maybe nothing conscious helped to stall me so that I would be there when I could be most useful. Or maybe it did. I’ll never know for sure. And anyway, it doesn’t really matter.”

ThinkingKnowsBelieveSelfMatterMomentsHelpingWould BeMovingUsedMotherNextCarNeededConsciousRidiculousArrogantBotheredSelf CenteredOld FriendsBoltsUsed Car
Book:Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
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“I pray not to be such a whiny, self-obsessed baby, and give thanks that I am not quite as bad as I used to be (talk about miracles). Then something comes up, and I overreact and blame and sulk, and it feels like I haven't made any progress at all. But it turns out I'm less of a brat than before, and I hit the reset button much sooner, shake it off, and get my sense if humor back.”

IfsGivingFeelsMadeSelfUsedTurnsProgressHavensBabyPrayingMiracleBlameCome UpUsed To BeThanksObsessedShakesButtonsI PrayResetBratSelf ObsessedReset Button
Author:Anne Lamott
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“You've got to learn to let go and let your children fall, and fail. If you try to protect them from hurt, and always rush to their side with Band-Aids, they won't learn about life, and what is true, what works, what helps, and what are real consequences of certain kinds of behavior. When they do get hurt, which they will, they won't know how to take care of their grown selves. They won't even know where the aspirin is kept.”

IfsKnowsTryingKindChildrenRealSelfHelpingCareCertainFallSidesHurtKnow HowFailingBandProtectLetting GoBehaviorConsequenceTake CareAidsYour ChildrenAspirinBand AidLearn To Let Go
Author:Anne Lamott
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“They believe that if they do get published, a wonderful new life is in store. It will turn out that deep down they are really valuable people and will have lots of money from now on and really cool people like Ethan Hawke will be dropping by all the time. But it's a lie. Being a published writer will make them long to be ONLY as mentally ill as they are now. Their current level of obsession and doubt and self-loathing will look like the good old days. Honest.”

PeopleIfsBelieveLooksLongSelfLife IsLyingTurnsLevelsDoubtWonderfulHonestIllCurrentsValuableStoresObsessionLots Of MoneyNew LifeDroppingDeep DownReally CoolOld DaysLoathingSelf LoathingMentally IllGood Old DaysCool People
Author:Anne Lamott
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“I’ve heard it said that every day you need half an hour of quiet time for yourself, or your Self, unless you’re incredibly busy and stressed, in which case you need an hour. I promise you, it is there. Fight tooth and nail to find time, to make it. It is our true wealth, this moment, this hour, this day.”

NeedsSaidSelfMomentsFightingHoursWealthHalfCasesHeardPromiseQuietBusyTeethThis DayNailsStressedI PromiseQuiet TimeTrue WealthTime For Yourself
Author:Anne Lamott
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