--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is ecstasy in paying attention…" description: "\"“There is ecstasy in paying attention... Anyone who wants to can be surprised by the beauty or pain of the natural world, of the human mind and heart, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/anne-lamott-188_attention_there-is-ecstasy-in-paying-attention-any_1922917.png" --- # There is ecstasy in paying attention... Anyone who wants… ![“There is ecstasy in paying attention... Anyone who wants to can be surprised by the beauty or pain of the natural world, of the human mind and heart, and can try to capture just that - the details, the nuance, what is. If you start to look around, you will start to see.” quote by Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/anne-lamott-188_attention_there-is-ecstasy-in-paying-attention-any_1922917.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/anne-lamott-188_attention_there-is-ecstasy-in-paying-attention-any_1922917.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/anne-lamott-188_attention_there-is-ecstasy-in-paying-attention-any_1922917.png) > ““There is ecstasy in paying attention... Anyone who wants to can be surprised by the beauty or pain of the natural world, of the human mind and heart, and can try to capture just that - the details, the nuance, what is. If you start to look around, you will start to see.”” [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. Paying close attention reveals hidden beauty and pain in nature and humanity, and noticing details transforms perception. **In simple terms:** Attention uncovers hidden depth. Key Takeaway Observe closely to discover wonder. Themes mindfulness observation beauty pain Mood contemplative curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - nature walks - therapy sessions - creative writing - education Key Concepts presence detail awareness sensory perception Questions to Reflect On - What details have you missed today? - How does focused attention change your emotions? A Different Perspective Can lead to overwhelm if over‑analyzing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mind/) [Mind and heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-and-heart/) [Natural world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-world/) [Paying Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paying-attention/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [When a show has gotten as much attention as this one, everyone wants to join in with something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edie-falco/when-a-show-has-gotten-as-much-attention-as-this-one-everyone-wants/) [Edie Falco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edie-falco/) > [To many girls want attention! NOT enough wants Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-siddiq-prince/to-many-girls-want-attention-not-enough-wants-respect/) [Young Siddiq Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-siddiq-prince/) > [People should pay more attention. Everyone wants attention, but no one wants to give attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-homes/people-should-pay-more-attention-everyone-wants-attention-but-no-one/) [A.M. Homes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-homes/) > [I think being a woman and writing frankly about violence has gotten me some attention, and as someone who wants people to read my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-think-being-a-woman-and-writing-frankly-about-violence-has-gotten/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“What she doesn’t understand is that telling me I can’t have or do something, only makes me want it more. Now she’s got my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-foor/what-she-doesn-t-understand-is-that-telling-me-i-can-t-have-or-do/) [Jennifer Foor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-foor/) > [To start to look more focused on the good that's been done and can be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/to-start-to-look-more-focused-on-the-good-that-s-been-done-and-can-be/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [To start with, look at all the books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/to-start-with-look-at-all-the-books/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [No one from the start, now look where we are. A look on your face makes me want to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaskade/no-one-from-the-start-now-look-where-we-are-a-look-on-your-face-makes/) [Kaskade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaskade/) > [When you place someone up on a pedestal, don't be surprised when they start to look down on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/when-you-place-someone-up-on-a-pedestal-don-t-be-surprised-when-they/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [“Why wait to get old and dream about the things you could have done, when you can start now and look back on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-walsh/why-wait-to-get-old-and-dream-about-the-things-you-could-have-done/) Allan Walsh > [You love 'Dragon Ball Z' for what it is, but when you really start to look at it, you're like, 'What the hell am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thundercat/you-love-dragon-ball-z-for-what-it-is-but-when-you-really-start-to/) [Thundercat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thundercat/) > [I honor the wisdom of life. I learn from life in all its forms. The tree teaches me. The sparrow and the wren sing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/i-honor-the-wisdom-of-life-i-learn-from-life-in-all-its-forms-the/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Writers, not psychiatrists, are the true interpreters of the human mind and heart, and we have been at it for a very long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/writers-not-psychiatrists-are-the-true-interpreters-of-the-human-mind/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [...the larger world lay not across oceans but within the human mind and heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-iles/the-larger-world-lay-not-across-oceans-but-within-the-human-mind-and/) [Greg Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-iles/) > [At the end of the day, no amount of investing, no amount of clean electrons, no amount of energy efficiency will save the natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-the-end-of-the-day-no-amount-of-investing-no-amount-of-clean/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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 Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is ecstasy in paying attention... 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