{ today's devotional: cuter abysses }

i was good at being good at things. i was good at forward thrust, at moving up ladders. you've never heard of forward thrust? it is the most central principle of american life, the necessity to improve your lot and status at any cost, and to stay one step ahead of the abyss that may open suddenly at your heels. unfortunately, forward thrust turns out not to be helpful in the search for your true place on earth.

i learned to waste a lot more time, which is the opposite of the fourth thing you're told after you're born: don't waste time. (it comes right after go clean your room.) the fifth rule is don't waste paper, but in order to become who i was meant to be, i learned i had to waste more paper, to practice messes, false starts and blunders: these are necessary stops on the route of creativity and emotional growth.

i wish there were shortcuts to wisdom and self-knowledge: cuter abysses or three-day spa wilderness experiences. sadly, it doesn't work that way.

almost everyone had at one time or another been exposed to the world as being flawed, and human. periods in the wilderness or desert were not lost time. you might find life, fossils, sources of water.

{ from "stitches" // anne lamott }