Elizabeth Gilbert's Blog, page 36
August 20, 2014
A nice little collection from Mexico…thank you, Ricardo!
A nice little collection from Mexico…thank you, Ricardo!
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San Luis Potosí, México.
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
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August 19, 2014
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS reaches Iran…amazing. And here, a photo of the mag…
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS reaches Iran…amazing. And here, a photo of the magical city of Isfahan — a place I have longed to visit ever since I first saw images of the Blue Mosque, long ago. Thank you for sharing this, Masi!
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Here is another photo of your book in my beautiful city, Isfahan. i'll be thrilled if you share these photos with your fans to let them know that we wish to welcome them in this wonderland
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
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THE CREATIVITY CONVERSATION, continued… Today’s subject: STOLEN TIME. Dear O…
THE CREATIVITY CONVERSATION, continued…
Today's subject: STOLEN TIME.
Dear Ones —
Thank you to the many, many people who wrote replies yesterday to my question, "What is your biggest obstacle for living a creative life?"
I read every single answer, and I was so moved by the thoughtfulness you brought to the question. In my informal analysis, it seems our top four champion obstacles are these:
1) Lack of time
2) Lack of money
3) Perfectionism
4) Fear
In the book that I'm writing about creativity, I've been trying to address all of these subjects, but today I really want to talk about the first item on the list — lack of time.
I want to share with you this blog entry below, that a writer named Tara Sophia Mohr wrote the other day, which I found very moving. She was writing in response to something I said in an interview, about how women have always made their art using stolen time and stolen materials. (An example I always give is the traditional art of quilting — an art form which women have always made in borrowed moments, using literal rags…and what do they make out of that compressed time, and those lousy materials? Masterpieces of singular beauty.)
The time that women have traditionally been given for themselves and for their creativity has never been perfect. It is still not perfect. Yet somehow, generation after generation, women have found ways to be creative, anyhow. (They have to, or they will lose their minds.) They gather the rags and the dregs, and they stitch it together into something amazing. Is it the ideal environment in which to creative? No. But they make it work.
And to be fair, men have also always longed for more time, more space, in which to work. EVERYONE longs for more time, more space. I once read a heartbreaking letter that Herman Melville wrote to a friend, saying that he was longing for a big, open stretch of time (I believe he called it "slow, grass-growing time") in which to work on his novel…but the time was never there. He was broke, he was stressed, he simply could not find the time. But he somehow managed to write Moby Dick, anyhow. And somehow J.K. Rowling and Toni Morrison — both single mothers with full-time jobs — wrote their first masterpieces, anyhow, when they were poor and obscure. I wrote my first book when I was a diner waitress and a bartender, living with roommates — crowded and broke. There was no privacy. There was no time. There as no money. I did it, anyhow.
I don't know any artist who does not long for that dream of a slow, grass-growing stretch of time in which to work without interruption. It never seems to come. If you are waiting for that perfect open sense of endless time to arrive in your life, you'll be waiting forever.
We must make our work, anyhow.
Stolen time, stolen materials.
One more thing: Back in the 1990's, I was complaining to an older artist about how I wished I could find more time to write. Out of nowhere, she changed the subject. She asked me, "What's your favorite TV show?"
Enthusiastically, I said, "The Sopranos!"
She smiled at me. "Not anymore, it isn't," she said. "You're done with TV. You're telling me you have time to watch The Sopranos, but you don't have time to work on your book?"
I have never forgotten her words. And ever since then, whenever I find myself on the brink of complaining that I don't have enough time in my life for creativity, I force myself to do an accounting — a brutally honest accounting — about where my precious hours are going. Where are they REALLY going?
What's your favorite TV show? What's your favorite Facebook page? What's your favorite magazine? Who's your favorite author? How many hours do you give those things?
What are you willing to give up, in order to have what you really want?
How much do you really want it?
ONWARD, dear ones — and please do read Tara Mohr's blog. It's terrific.
KEEPING MAKING THINGS,
LG
stolen time – Tara Sophia Mohr | Playing Big
www.taramohr.com
Two months ago, I read this quote from writer Elizabeth Gilbert: Traditionally, women have always made their art out of stolen materials and stolen time. Those words have made the biggest difference in my life. You see, I thought it was a problem that I was writing in bits of stolen time. I thought…
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THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS in the mossy mountains of Vermont…so lovely.
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS in the mossy mountains of Vermont…so lovely.
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Quietly exploring Vermont with Alma. Woodford State Park.
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SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS at a lovely, hazy Texas beach!
SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS at a lovely, hazy Texas beach!
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Alma is taking some Sun in South Padre Island, Texas!! 
— at At the Beach on South Padre Island.
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August 18, 2014
Hey PORTLAND! (Oregon, that is!) Come see me on September 8th, if you would be…
Hey PORTLAND! (Oregon, that is!)
Come see me on September 8th, if you would be so kind?
It will be FUN.
Tickets available here:
(And for more of my autumnal tour schedule, please turn your attention to: Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is your biggest obstacle for living a creative life?…
QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is your biggest obstacle for living a creative life?
Dear Ones –
I am working on a book right now about creativity.
A small book, a guidebook, a (hopefully) helpful book.
It is largely drawn from conversations we've had on this Facebook page, and from encounters that I've had with many of you in person when I am out on the road. Let me put it simply: I want to help you.
Creativity has always been a source of uncomplicated joy for me, but I know that it is not a source of uncomplicated joy for everyone. I know that many of you suffer and struggle to express yourselves, to believe in your work, to put yourself forward. I know that many of you feel blocked, tormented, stuck, afraid.
What I want to ask you today, quite earnestly, is this — what is holding you back from living your most creative life, more than anything? If you could identify ONE THING that is stopping you from the fullest expression of your imagination, what would you name it?
Will you let me know, if you feel comfortable doing so?
Will you share this with your friends, and ask them?
I ask all this because I want to make sure, with this new book, that I address all your questions, all your fears, all your blockages. Or at least that I try to — as well and thoroughly as I can.
Because: ART.
ONWARD,
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
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HAS ANYONE SEEN THIS GIRL, ALEX SILVESTRI? This broke my heart. Please share —…
HAS ANYONE SEEN THIS GIRL, ALEX SILVESTRI?
This broke my heart. Please share — especially in the NYC area.
Blessings, Katie.
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Dear Liz, I know this is a long shot, but I NEED the word to get out, and you've got so many amazing, kindhearted fans of your brilliant stories; looking particularly at any in the New York City area that might just read this post and share in order to help find a missing person.
My sister, @[1388400004:2048:Alex Silvestri], is missing. She recently (this past week) took a trip to the Brooklyn area and made it there, last we heard. She has not been heard from since this past Friday morning or seen by the person she was staying with since this past Monday. We are very worried about her, as she is new to the city and traveled alone without much money or consistent mode of communication. A police report has been filed, but there is not much that can be done because she is not a resident of the city itself. I have posted a somewhat recent photo; there are more on her facebook page. Please share this and PLEASE contact me if you have seen her or have been in contact with her. Thank you.
Katie Silvestri, Buffalo region — with Alex Silvestri.
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
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August 17, 2014
Dear Ones — I wanted to repost this essay I wrote from last year, because the qu…
Dear Ones — I wanted to repost this essay I wrote from last year, because the question came up again (as it always will) just the other day…hope it's helpful!
QUESTION OF THE DAY: IS IT SELFISH TO GO ON A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY?
Somebody asked me this the other day and it made me smile, because it reminded me of the years between 2006 and 2010 (what I call "The Eat Pray Love Years") when somebody (often a reporter or interviewer) would ask me this question EVERY SINGLE DAY.
It's been a while since I've had to answer it, so I will take a trip down memory lane here, and answer it once more.
The answer is: No.
No, it is not selfish to go on a spiritual journey. For that matter, it is not selfish to go a vision quest, or to embark on therapeutic/psychological self-examination, or to go on a pilgrimage, or to devote yourself to prayer and meditation, or to take any sort of creative or healing or investigative voyage into the self whatsoever.
Because:
1) It is your divine and intrinsic right as a human being to discover who you are, and who God is, and what your purpose is, and what your talents are, and where your joy is to be found, and how to ease your own suffering and the suffering of others. (In fact, seriously: What else are you going to spend your life doing, if not, at some point, taking a bit of time to try answering even one of those questions?)
2) Going on a true journey of self-exploration should not be confused with going to a spa for a weekend. It is not a way of spoiling yourself. It is not a luxury. It is not a mani-pedi for the soul. Nor is it a relaxing endeavor — as anyone who has gone deep into meditation or self-examination can attest. We don't necessarily take on the central questions of self and divinity (Who am I? Who is God?) because it's FUN. Often we are driven toward those questions by great suffering, and can only work our way through those hard questions with tremendous courage. Sometimes we don't even want to ask those questions, but simply must. What's more, these questions can be asked at any moment, from any place in the world, in the midst of any situation. These are not questions for the rich or the privileged only. You don't need a plane ticket anywhere to explore this stuff. I have a friend who is investigating these questions from within a prison cell right now — and trust me, even from within his seven-by-ten-foot cage, he is ON A JOURNEY.
3) Going on a journey toward the self is actually a public service. You know why? Because until you get to the bottom of yourself — until you humbly investigate the roots of your own suffering and nonsense and misery and destructive patterns — you will just keep causing mayhem, misery and trouble…not only for yourself, but for others. A friend of mine who has been savagely unhappy for years finally started therapy a few months ago, and he said to me, "It's super helpful, but I just feel so selfish, spending this much time and money on myself…" To which I replied, "Trust me, dude. It is benefiting ALL OF US." (His wife and children most of all. But seriously — all of us win whenever a loved one gets helped or healed.)
4) I was once told that in Mandarin there are two words that both translate into "SELFISH" in English. One means "Doing something that benefits you." The other means, "Doing something that benefits you at the expense of others." In English, we don't have this distinction. But there is a recognition in Chinese that these are two different notions — that it is not necessarily true that anything you do for yourself harms others. Sometimes you can do wonderful and important things for yourself without taking a thing away from another human being. This is the difference between self-care and greed. Self-care = GOOD. Greed = BAD. They are critically different. Never forget it.
5) THE END.
Have a nice day/quest,
Liz
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THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS in Portugal…a place I have never been, but long to…
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS in Portugal…a place I have never been, but long to visit someday!
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
First you've touched me deeply with your «Eat, Pray, Love» and now you've proved your success as a writer has nothing to do with luck. Maybe you could include Portugal in another book of yours!
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