We can be shiny and perfect and admired, or we can be real and honest and vulnerable and loved. But we actually do have to choose.
GLENNON DOYLEWe can be shiny and perfect and admired, or we can be real and honest and vulnerable and loved. But we actually do have to choose.
GLENNON DOYLEI am not, at the end of the day, a mother, a wife, a writer, an activist, a friend. I am a child of God. That’s who I was when I came into this world and who I’ll be when I leave it. No one can take that from me.
GLENNON DOYLEI used to choose friends based on similarity in age and life stage, but I’ve learned that those were the wrong criteria. Trying to live life exclusively alongside others our own age is like attempting to climb Mt. Everest without a Sherpa. It’s a little dangerous.
GLENNON DOYLEOne of the reasons we stay so alone in our lives is because we’re ashamed to talk about the hard stuff. It’s as simple as that. We’re all in pain in different ways, and we don’t get the help we need because we’re too ashamed to talk about the pain.
GLENNON DOYLEThe most important thing on Earth is for all of us to make this sentence true: Compassion is what people do.
GLENNON DOYLEIntegrity means there is not a real-life you and an internet you. The two are one and the same. If you’re not kind on the Internet, you’re not kind.
GLENNON DOYLEWe should live out our particular brand of faith, sure – but we should never force our brand of faith upon anyone else. All violence starts with the desire to change others and then never, ever ends.
GLENNON DOYLEI don’t want to take anything to the grave. I want to die used up and emptied out. I don’t want to carry around anything I don’t have to. I want to travel light.
GLENNON DOYLEI believe in people because I believe in God. I think God knew what God was doing when God made each of us.
GLENNON DOYLELove is kind, right? It’s not about calling someone out on every little thing you feel.
GLENNON DOYLEOften, we need to ignore the words people say and attend to their underlying, urgent, life or death questions: Am I valuable? Am I loved? The great thing is that the answer is easy: Yes! The answer is always yes. We don’t have to think too hard.
GLENNON DOYLEWhen people express opinions that differ from yours, take it as a chance to grow. Seek to understand over being understood. Be curious, not defensive. The only way to disarm another human being is by listening.
GLENNON DOYLEI’ve seen my name on marquees and bowed to standing ovations. I’ve also been called a fraud, a mental case, a heretic. People all over the country wait in line to hug me or curse me.
GLENNON DOYLEYour body is not your art – it’s your paintbrush. Whether your paintbrush is a tall paintbrush or a thin paintbrush or a stocky paintbrush or a scratched up paintbrush is completely irrelevant.
GLENNON DOYLEBeing a mother is a little like ‘Groundhog’s Day.’ It’s getting out of bed and doing the exact same things again and again and yet again – and it’s watching it all get undone again and again and yet again. It’s humbling, monotonous, mind-numbing, and solitary.
GLENNON DOYLEWe are – each and every one of us – unlearning misogyny. It’s going to take some time. But be aware and active of your prejudices. Notice when they kick in and resist. Fight to stay soft and open. Step back and squint hard.
GLENNON DOYLE