I have been reading Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott and been loving it. Thought I would share some of my favorite quotes so far....
It's funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox, full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools - friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty - and said, Do the best you can with these, they will have to do. And mostly, against all odds, they're enough. (pg. 103)
I do not at all understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us. (pg. 143)
To Ally, E and Andy (my music lovin' friends...two of which are so appropriately sportin' iPods in their profile pics) you will appreciate this one most:
I can't imagine anything but music that could have brought about this alchemy. Maybe it's because music is about as physical as it gets: your essential rhythm is your heartbeat; your essential sound, the breath. We're walking temples of noise, and when you add tender hearts to this mix, it somehow lets us meet in places we couldn't get to any other way. (pg. 65)
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4 comments:
Holy cow, I know, right? How much do you love her? Next stop, Plan B, Further Thoughts on Faith.
Have you read her line about bitch slapping ET yet, when she smacks her son? That's my all time favorite.
OH...yeah, guess I'm too deep. Only seem to snatch to profound statements, but that one was spectacular too. She's just so raw, I love it!
That music quote is sheer brilliance.
So, this is interesting - lately I seem to crave silence almost as much as music. I think it's because I want to listen to the things Lamott is talking about here.
The cymbal-like clanging of coffee cups thrown in the dirty bins.
The murmuring bassline of voices filling a room.
The tempo of my own breath.
God's music...
No, girl, I love her words so much. That ET quote just sticks out so much because it's SO funny. I couldn't stop laughing.
My first read of her was at a time when I desperately needed to believe that it was okay to love God and not have it all together. Camp Barnabas, Lamott, and Brennan Manning have kept me hanging on in times where my fingers were slipping, and I was fully ready to just let go.
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