Elizabeth Gilbert's Blog, page 42
August 6, 2014
Good old EAT PRAY LOVE. Good old comforting hot drink…
Good old EAT PRAY LOVE. Good old comforting hot drink…
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
I will never get sick of reading this book. It's my happiness and therapy all in one!
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post Good old EAT PRAY LOVE. Good old comforting hot drink… appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS returns to the South Pacific, where Alma finds herse…
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS returns to the South Pacific, where Alma finds herself once again…
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Have been loving reading The Signature of All Things on our holiday in Vanuatu. A beautiful book.
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS returns to the South Pacific, where Alma finds herse… appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
Wow! THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS reaches Abu Dhabi…along with its big sister,…
Wow! THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS reaches Abu Dhabi…along with its big sister, EPL.
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
The Signature Of All Things at Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Off to Bali on 10th Aug. Meeting Ketut Liyer on my 60th Birthday. Thank you for being such a great trailblazer — at Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi.
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post Wow! THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS reaches Abu Dhabi…along with its big sister,… appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
August 5, 2014
GARDEN TIME! Dear Ones – I thought you might enjoy this interview I just did w…
GARDEN TIME!
Dear Ones –
I thought you might enjoy this interview I just did with Gilt.com about my gardening life.
Here's the link:
http://bit.ly/1kl2N41
Enjoy, and happy summer!
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post GARDEN TIME! Dear Ones – I thought you might enjoy this interview I just did w… appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
Question of the day: How do you hold onto grace? Something happened to me last…
Question of the day: How do you hold onto grace?
Something happened to me last year, that I've been trying to wrap my mind around ever since.
It was the middle of the night, and I got an email from an old friend who was enraged at me. The details don't matter here: We all know what rage looks like, and this was it. Full-on rage. Nothing held back.
Normally, something like this would have thrown me into a pit of despair, defensiveness, anger, horror, sorrow…
But the timing was curious. Just that same week, it happens, I had been enraged at another old friend of mine. (Two completely different friends, two completely different circumstances.) I had been overcome with righteous indignation at how badly I felt I'd been treated by this friend of mine, and I had allowed my righteous indignation to come to its fullest boil — and then I'd unleashed it on this person. Which had made me feel better in the moment, yes, but not for long. Actually, it had made me feel awful.
And now, just a few days later, someone was doing the exact same thing to me — allowing their righteous indignation to come to a full boil, and then unleashing it upon me.
Because I had just done THE SAME THING to someone else, I suddenly felt nothing but empathy for the person who was enraged at me.
I knew exactly how much pain and fire my friend was walking through, to be so righteously indignant at me. I knew this to be true, because I'd just felt the same pain and fire myself that very week, toward someone else. I knew intimately that it IS hell — to be so explosively furious with someone. I could see that I had been in this hell myself, and now, a few days later, this person who was enraged with me was in exactly the same hell.
Which meant that we were twins.
It was so weird, but I suddenly was able to rise above the details of all the drama, and to just see how much we all suffer, as humans, when we feel we have been harmed by another. I could see how badly equipped we are at managing that pain at times. I could see how we only escalate things by lashing out with such rage. I could see how I had just done it (escalated the amount of pain in the world by lashing out at a friend, because I felt justified in my indignation) and now it was being done to me — and I could see how these tornados of anger just keep happening (to us, and from us) and how it is, universally, hell.
Then I fell into this state of peace and compassion unlike anything I have felt since that moment in India when I believed myself to be sitting on the palm of God. Suddenly, I felt nothing but peace and compassion toward myself, nothing but peace and compassion toward the friend whom I had been blindingly enraged at, nothing but peace and compassion toward the friend who was now blindingly enraged at me. I could see that we are all the same, that all we want is to be peaceful and to be loved, but that it is SO DIFFICULT sometimes to be a mere person, and to manage these most poisonous and powerful of human emotions. I was overcome with tenderness toward all of humanity for our universal struggle.
Within moments, I felt like I was floating. I felt so still and serene. And I felt so certain of this fact: None of these stories that we tell ourselves about our emotions matter. Our indignation and our anger don't matter. It's all just a trap, a prison. Nothing matters except compassion.
For the next 24 hours, I floated. I saw grace in everyone. I wondered how it was possible that I'd ever felt resentment, shame, blame toward anyone — when this state of love and understanding was so much better. I thought, "My God, this is the answer. This is the state I want to live in, always. Just be like THIS, Liz, and you will never suffer again, nor will you escalate anyone else's suffering."
It was beautiful.
And then I lost hold of it.
It lasted for a day — one of the most beautiful days of my life — and then I fell out of it. My own indignation crept back in. My own opinions crept back in. My hurt feelings made themselves known. I started building cases in my mind against the people who had angered me, or who were angry with me. My brittle little human ego returned. I couldn't access that serene, floating perspective again. t tried to fight my own ego — though I felt like I was the losing the battle just by having the battle — but it returned anyhow. (And hasn't budged since.)
But I can still remember what it was like for that one magnificent day, when I felt like I was composed of nothing but compassion (for all the world and for myself) and nothing else mattered.
My question is this: How do you hold onto that?
I want to go back to there.
I am asking in all sincerity. You guys have been around: You know things.
What do you think?
Heart,
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post Question of the day: How do you hold onto grace? Something happened to me last… appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS goes to Bali…ahhhhh….
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS goes to Bali…ahhhhh….
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Greetings from Bali!! The perfect backdrop for a beautiful cover. Let the adventures of Alma begin…????
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS goes to Bali…ahhhhh…. appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS reaches St Tropez….I’ll be right over!
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS reaches St Tropez….I'll be right over!
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Bonjour Elizabeth!! Hanging out in this lovely weather with Alma all the way from Saint Tropez, France!
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS reaches St Tropez….I’ll be right over! appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
Such a beautiful photo of THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS in New Zealand…
Such a beautiful photo of THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS in New Zealand…
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
The Signature of All Things journeys to Lake Matheson in New Zealand, reflecting Mt. Cook. I wonder if Alma's dad got to see this mountain too on his trip around the world with Captain Cook? 
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post Such a beautiful photo of THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS in New Zealand… appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
August 4, 2014
Dear Ones – Would anyone care to join me for dinner at White Acre? And by “Whi…
Dear Ones -
Would anyone care to join me for dinner at White Acre?
And by "White Acre", I mean "The Woodlands" — the actual historical Philadelphia mansion upon which I based Alma's home in THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS.
Next Sunday, I'll be hosting an intimate evening dinner at the estate — which will include a tour of the property, where you can see such real-life features as Alma's carriage house, Hanneke's bedroom, and, er, the bidning closet.
Tickets are expensive because this is a fundraiser for desperately needed (and very pricey) repairs to this beautiful, crumbling, historical property (I bought a ticket myself, to join in the fundraising crusade) but if you can't afford the full-price ticket, you have until tomorrow to win the chance of getting a ticket for just $50. Go to the website and see how!
I'm so looking forward to this special, romantic event…should be absolutely unforgettable!
Hope to see you there!
LG
Home
woodlandsphila.org
The Woodlands is a Philadelphia treasure, a must-see historic site and communal backyard for a vibrant neighborhood and city.
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post Dear Ones – Would anyone care to join me for dinner at White Acre? And by “Whi… appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
…alternatively: Take a ship-building class, and make your own.
…alternatively: Take a ship-building class, and make your own.
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post …alternatively: Take a ship-building class, and make your own. appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
