--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Faith includes noticing the mess, the…" description: "\"“Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns. Faith also means reaching deeply wit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b8/anne-lamott-188_emptiness_faith-includes-noticing-the-mess-the-emp_2138409.png" --- # Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and… ![“Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns. Faith also means reaching deeply within, for the sense one was born with, the sense, for example, to go for a walk.” quote by Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b8/anne-lamott-188_emptiness_faith-includes-noticing-the-mess-the-emp_2138409.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b8/anne-lamott-188_emptiness_faith-includes-noticing-the-mess-the-emp_2138409.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b8/anne-lamott-188_emptiness_faith-includes-noticing-the-mess-the-emp_2138409.png) > ““Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns. Faith also means reaching deeply within, for the sense one was born with, the sense, for example, to go for a walk.”” [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Faith involves acknowledging discomfort and allowing it to exist until hope reappears, while also tapping inner purpose. **In simple terms:** Accept pain, wait for hope, find inner purpose. Key Takeaway Embrace discomfort, seek inner guidance. Themes faith resilience inner purpose Mood reflective hopeful Type spiritual inspirational When to use this quote - grief recovery - personal crisis - creative block - spiritual practice Key Concepts spirituality mindfulness growth Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance acceptance with taking action? - What inner sense guides you in hardship? A Different Perspective Faith may feel passive, risking inaction without proactive steps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/faith-includes-noticing-the-mess-the-emptiness-and-discomfort-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [But, today, the idea of faith returns to me. Faith defies logic and propels us beyond hope because it is not attached to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/but-today-the-idea-of-faith-returns-to-me-faith-defies-logic-and/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“Faith includes; prayer, the knowledge of God’s providence and sovereignty, God’s word, wise counselors and fellowship, my availability and humility, and the intimacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-frankel/faith-includes-prayer-the-knowledge-of-god-s-providence-and/) [Warren Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-frankel/) > [“Faith includes both an immediate awareness of something unconditional and the courage to take the risk of uncertainty upon itself. Faith says "Yes" in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/faith-includes-both-an-immediate-awareness-of-something-unconditional/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [Living by faith includes the call to something greater than cowardly self-preservation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/living-by-faith-includes-the-call-to-something-greater-than-cowardly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/the-opposite-of-faith-is-not-doubt-but-certainty-certainty-is-missing/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Faith means a lot to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-alaba/faith-means-a-lot-to-me/) [David Alaba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-alaba/) > [For me, faith means that what is right will win out one day. It means that the universe is not aimless but moves by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ferguson/for-me-faith-means-that-what-is-right-will-win-out-one-day-it-means/) [Sarah Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ferguson/) > [“...to have true faith means believing in things you cannot see just as true love sometimes means making choices you never thought you'd have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-watts/to-have-true-faith-means-believing-in-things-you-cannot-see-just-as/) J.D. Watts > [Faith means the purposeful suspension of critical thinking. It’s nothing to be admired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/faith-means-the-purposeful-suspension-of-critical-thinking-it-s/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“Grace means God gives. Faith means I receive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-lewis-w-gregory/grace-means-god-gives-faith-means-i-receive/) Dr. Lewis W Gregory > [We operate by faith, which means that we have confidence in what God says, whether we fully understand it or not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/we-operate-by-faith-which-means-that-we-have-confidence-in-what-god/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Crossing the threshold of faith means that we work out of a sense of dignity and see service as a vocation. It means we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/crossing-the-threshold-of-faith-means-that-we-work-out-of-a-sense-of/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“I find it strangely comforting that walking the path of Christian faith means being confronted moment by moment with what is counterintuitive and ultimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-enns/i-find-it-strangely-comforting-that-walking-the-path-of-christian/) [Peter Enns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-enns/) > [Christianity also stands in opposition to intellectual, as well as physical, health. To doubt becomes sin. 'Faith means not wanting to know what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sheaffer/christianity-also-stands-in-opposition-to-intellectual-as-well-as/) [Robert Sheaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sheaffer/) ## More by Anne Lamott > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [It's funny where we look for salvation, and where we actually find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/it-s-funny-where-we-look-for-salvation-and-where-we-actually-find-it/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/publication-is-not-all-that-it-is-cracked-up-to-be-but-writing-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [And yet, I do believe there is ultimately meaning in the chaos, and also in the doldrums. What I resist is not the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-yet-i-do-believe-there-is-ultimately-meaning-in-the-chaos-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Raising a child, whether or not it is yours, is like Nautilus of the heart and soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/raising-a-child-whether-or-not-it-is-yours-is-like-nautilus-of-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I heard a preacher say recently that hope is a revolutionary patience; let me add that so is being a writer. Hope begins in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-heard-a-preacher-say-recently-that-hope-is-a-revolutionary-patience/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-think-perfectionism-is-based-on-the-obsessive-belief-that-if-you/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [All criticism hurts me. I'm so in the wrong business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/all-criticism-hurts-me-i-m-so-in-the-wrong-business/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [We are going to die, as is everyone we adore - I hate this! But the question is, how do we live as women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-are-going-to-die-as-is-everyone-we-adore-i-hate-this-but-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You will go through your life thinking there was a day in second grade that you must have missed, when the grown-ups came in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-will-go-through-your-life-thinking-there-was-a-day-in-second/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You begin to string words together like beads to tell a story. You are desperate to communicate, to edify or entertain, to preserve moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-begin-to-string-words-together-like-beads-to-tell-a-story-you-are/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You lose the known package of your nice organized self almost instantly here. Overeating is one way back, the way it is at funerals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-lose-the-known-package-of-your-nice-organized-self-almost/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Explore all 976 Anne Lamott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) aryadeva > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. It was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-martin/what-i-was-trying-to-convey-there-was-the-kind-of-waste-land-that-was/) [George Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-martin/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns. 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