—I KNOW THAT’S NOW HOW YOU PLANNED IT, BUT IT’S NOT THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD

 

…I read eight books last week, the majority of which were stellar, though all were quite different in subject matter and style.

One was Anne Lamott’s newest work of non-fiction. I believe I’ve read every book of hers that is not a novel. This latest one—Dusk Night Dawn—was written during the pandemic, or on the edges of it.

As always, Anne provides some nuggets of philosophical gold to ponder.

I excerpted my favorites, but will break them up into two posts, one for today, and the next Wednesday.

Please enjoy…

I have learned in my third third of life that forgiveness is a grace: you can’t force it, you can only set the mechanism to Receive.

Seeing is a form of pure being, unlike watching or looking at. Seeing is why we’re here.

When everything keeps expanding, there is still room in all of us for breath, which is what keeps us alive.

When we try to get difficulties to conform to our way of thinking, we often push them toward being fancier, and thus absurd. We strip away the grace of what is real, and true, and maybe even lovely.

Jesus is big on people evolving.

I’m not suicidal, but sometimes I wish I was dead.

Ninety percent of the time, this is the solution: Tell it. Cry if you can. If you can’t, sit in a dejected posture, hunched over, and stay with this a while. It will shift, and become less acute.

My mind wanted me dead, but it always settled for getting me drunk.

Listening is optional: you have to make a conscious decision to being listening harder.

Why am I here? To love this dumb old day. Oh, if only I could remember this.