Imperfection a’ la Anne Lamott
The first time I heard of Anne Lamott was eight or so years ago, back in Michigan, when I read the “secret of life” which she had found on a xeroxed photo of Koko the gorilla. It was my email signature for a long time and I still find it one of the best pieces of advice out there: “The law of the American jungle: Remain calm and share your bananas.” Though she did not conceive of that Universal guidance, it resonated with her and she dropped that same smooth pebble into the collective consciousness to ripple outward and help many more of us smile and “get it” a little bit more. And that, I’ve learned in the years past, is a true gift of Anne’s.
She was at Book Passage the other night, the last night of her book tour for ‘Imperfect Birds’. This is the third in the series which started with ‘Rosie’, which I stumbled upon at the library last fall and adored. It reminded me of how a good novel can be like a supportive companion on the winding path of life. The depth and soul of characters like Rosie, her Mom, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s best friend, Ray, help me feel less alone in my complexity and nuance. In my hunger for wisdom and guidance, I’d left fiction behind, with rare exceptions, more than a few years ago. I am so thankful for the renewed love of fictional worlds. They kept me warm and rooted during the cold stormy days of this winter just past (hooray Spring!)
Anne is about as down-to-earth as it gets. The kind of woman you immediately feel like you’ve known for years. Yes, partly from reading her words, knowing pieces of her story, but also because her energy is just so damn Real. I know she’s beloved throughout Marin, her lifelong home, and now I understand more vividly why. At Spirit Rock just before Thanksgiving, Jack Kornfield quoted “his dear friend Anne Lamott” on the challenge of going Deep Within. It was something like this,
“My mind is a scary place to be. I try not to go there alone too often…”
Of course, she does go there (and through to the Spirit) alone on a regular basis. That’s the source of her beautiful characters and her kind and generous spirit.
Like any smart writer, I own ‘Bird by Bird’ now, which I fittingly picked up here in Marin. I’m savoring it, bit by bit, picking it up when I need a new dose of Anne’s medicine for the trials of life, which she reminds us, with wit and mirth, are a necessary part of the journey. My favorite dose so far is for coping with those in our life who do not see/feel how their abundance and success can sometimes, when we are going through one of those trials, make us feel a little less worthy. I haven’t had use for the phrase yet, but have almost pulled it out a few times and smile whenever I think of it.
“I had been around someone from the South that summer who was always exclaiming “Isn’t that great?” – only she made it almost rhyme with “bright.” So when my friend would call with her latest good news, always presented humbly like some born-again-Christian Miss America contestant, I’d say, “Isn’t that gright, huh? Isn’t that gright?”
Thank-you, Anne, for sharing your truths so freely. I have benefited from them and they are tucked away in my mind/heart/spirit so it’s not such a scary place to be; companions on
that…”lifelong search for shards of light.”
Related Posts
- Pretty Inside
- Something Like a Bird, Within Her Sang
- A Place to Land
- Mindfulness and Lovingkindness
- Poems By Request – Fertile
Creative Pathfinder- Learnings, Weeks 17-20
This quartet of lessons from Mark McGuinness takes us through the fundamentals of protecting and sharing our intellectual property, recognizing and utilizing our many non-monetary assets, and knowing our self.
Lesson 17
Topic = Protect Your Work, Respect Their Work
Insights
- As a creator, putting your work “out there” to be experienced/enjoyed (and purchased!), it behooves you to know your ownership rights in relationship to that work, your intellectual property.
…since ideas and their execution are the basis of your creative and commercial success, you can’t afford to be ignorant about intellectual property.
-Mark McGuinness
- Likewise, when we use the work of others, incorporating it into our own work (e.g. quotes, photos, video/audio clips, etc), we need to know what is legal/fair use. Mark lists some good resources and I highly recommend Creative Commons for learning about and engaging in smart sharing/collaborating. Their video section is a fun place to start learning.
Actions
- Get CC licenses up on all our sites (this action item is long overdue.)
Lesson 18
Topic = Share!
Insights
- Now that you’re well educated about protecting your creative work, it’s time to start sharing. Giving freely of products and services that will help/inform/entertain others is both generous and savvy. It’s a way for people (potential clients/customers/connections) to get a taste/feel for what you have to offer, and begin learning the value of your work. This course is a grand example of that.
Actions
- See Lesson 17 Action.
Our tools give everyone from individual creators to large companies and institutions a simple, standardized way to keep their copyright while allowing certain uses of their work — a “some rights reserved” approach to copyright…
-from CreativeCommons.org/about
Lesson 19
Topic = We Have Many Assets
Insights
- This point – that we each possess many valuable assets, besides just the financial – is really worth understanding. Recognizing the value of our network, reputation, popularity, credibility, time, attention, opportunities, and web presence means we can leverage and enhance these assets for the success and growth of our business, which will increase that other valuable asset, money.
- These assets are all interconnected and complimentary. For example, if we invest our time and attention into sharing our work freely (see Lesson 18), assuming the work is helpful/insightful/entertaining, our network/reputation/popularity/credibility/opportunities will grow over time. Aha!
In a sense, all of the other currencies — including money — are designed to create more of this one. If you have money, a great reputation and network, valuable intellectual property, and control over your own time and attention, you’re in a great position to create new opportunities.
-Mark McGuinness
Actions
- The worksheet for this lesson is full of good questions for assessing the current status/value of your assets. I’ll be referring regularly to my answers to leverage and enhance these assets.
- Invest more time in networking. Current goal = 2+ hours a week. Long term goal = 5+ hours a week.
- Continue building credibility through studying, training, learning, practicing, doing, giving.
- Continue the healthy daily life practices to improve my attention: meditation, mindfulness, eating well, deep breathing, yoga/movement/walks/exercise, getting Out and experiencing the New.
- Recognize the many opportunities that are available to me Right Now, see the value of each step on the path, and keep walking!
Lesson 20
Topic = Know Thyself
Insights
- We talked about it in Lesson 13 in relation to marketing, where it was really more about knowing your work (products/services.) Here we go deeper.
I can say with great conviction that the more we understand what makes us tick/hum/dance, how we approach and interact with the world, and what we do best, the greater our happiness and success will be.
- It’s OK, healthy even, to be at peace with what we are not good at. That frees up energy to apply to our natural talents. What am I not good at?: statistics/accounting, aerobics/complex dance moves, and competitions (mostly because I don’t like them.)
- Celebrate and embrace your talents! Combined with interests and opportunities, they are your pathways to Great Work (thanks to Scott Belsky for that formula.)
Actions
- See Lesson 19 Actions. Just as the healthy daily life practices of meditation and mindfulness help us to improve attention they also help us know who we really are. And not only does that make us more comfortable in our own skin, it makes our interactions more comfortable too. And I for one am all for more comfort, inner and outer!
- Re-engage some of my dormant talents, specifically drawing and writing poetry. For many years they came naturally to me, but those creative channels have gotten somewhat blocked and I want to get into that FLOW again.
- Review on my MBTI profile and reflect on how to best honor and utilize my natural tendencies.
- Start learning about the Enneagram, something which has interested me for years.
