Sibling Assignment #202 : Advice From Anne Lamott: Let It Be

Sister Carol gave the sibling assignment this week:

"Think back over the last year, and write about something you have either read, listened to or watched that has made a tremendous impact on your life.  Share about it, and why it impacted your life." Brother Bill's is here. Sister Carol's is here.

I had the privilege of hearing Anne Lamott speak in Spokane last April. It had a tremendous impact on my life. I have written two other blog posts about her and her talk and I will link them at the bottom. There are many reasons why this talk impacted my life. I will share a few:

She is very down-to-earth. She could have joined my summer writing group or sat down for coffee with my book group and fit right in. She has this ability to take big ideas and break them down into prose that makes more sense, yet carries a big punch. She makes you believe that being a good writer isn't as difficult to attain as many think. Here is an example:

“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.”

All writers want to be better at their craft, even if  the writing is a personal journal every day or jottings on a blog.  Lamott guides us gently into the writing process and helps us understand you need to keep "the butt to the chair" and there are lots of "shitty first drafts". There are lots of starts and stops. Writing is messy. Here she explains why writing matters: 

“So why does our writing matter, again?" they ask.

Because of the spirit, I say. Because of the heart. Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again.” 

 Her journey of faith, though unconventional, guides ua to see that faith isn't a cookie cutter way of believing.  She has struggled with addiction, body image issues, depression, and failure. Her faith has carried her through many valleys and mountaintops and her series of books on faith illustrate how prayer, God, spirituality,and grace can be understood and viewed differently by each individual, and that is okay.

I have a few more of her books on my stack to read. I love to read her quotes on Twitter every day. If  you haven't read any of her books, I highly recommend them. Here are the links to my other two posts about Anne Lamott.

http://gatheringaroundthetable.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-shed-notebook-bird-by-bird.html

http://gatheringaroundthetable.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-shed-notebook-anne-lamott-and.html