Jean Houston And Anne Lamott Quotes — All Time Favorites

“I firmly believe that all human beings have access to extraordinary energies and powers. Judging from accounts of mystical experience, heightened creativity, or exceptional performance by athletes and artists, we harbor a greater life than we know.”  Jean Houston

“Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.”  Anne Lamott

“At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.”  Jean Houston

“Joy is the best makeup.”  Anne Lamott, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith

“Our senses are indeed our doors and windows on this world, in a very real sense the key to the unlocking of meaning and the wellspring of creativity.”  Jean Houston

“You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”  Anne Lamott

“The tendrils of a new, deeper form of spirituality are growing. It’s the greening under the surface crust of consciousness and social paradigm.”  Jean Houston

“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won’t have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren’t even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they’re doing it.”   Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

“We all have the extraordinary coded within us, waiting to be released.”  Jean Houston

“You can either practice being right or practice being kind.”  Anne Lamott

“Just as you would not neglect seeds that you planted with hope that they will bear vegetables and fruits and flowers so you must attend to nourish the garden of your becoming.”  Jean Houston

“Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.”   Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith

“There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”  Jean Houston

“I thought such awful thoughts that I cannot even say them out loud because they would make Jesus want to drink gin straight out of the cat dish.”  Anne Lamott

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”  Jean Houston

“A good marriage is where both people feel like they’re getting the better end of the deal.”  Anne Lamott, Joe Jones

“Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”  Jean Houston

“I don’t remember who said this, but there really are places in the heart you don’t even know exist until you love a child.”  Anne Lamott, Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year

“Design and launch your boat, the organization and containment for your visions. You’ll see where its strengths and weaknesses are.”  Jean Houston

“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”   Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

“You are not a passive observer in the cosmos. The entire universe is expressing itself through you at this very moment.” Jean Houston