Elizabeth Gilbert's Blog, page 68
May 12, 2014
Are you a subscriber to my LizNews email newsletter? It’s where all my big news…
Are you a subscriber to my LizNews email newsletter?
It's where all my big news goes FIRST, and I've got a good one brewing for the next week or so.
You can sign up on this page by clicking the LizNews icon at the top of the page (where the cartoon picture of me is), or you can sign up on the opening page of my website (also by looking for my cartoon image):
Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
TEN YEARS AGO this week… I had just left India and arrived in Bali. I was two…
TEN YEARS AGO this week…
I had just left India and arrived in Bali. I was two-thirds of the through the journey that would become EAT PRAY LOVE…I had eaten my way through Italy, prayed my heart out in India, and I had no idea what was ahead of me here.
But I was feeling really, really happy.
Because I knew it was working.
All love,
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post TEN YEARS AGO this week… I had just left India and arrived in Bali. I was two… appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
May 11, 2014
Dear Ones — Here’s an interview that just went up on the wonderful network Soun…
Dear Ones —
Here's an interview that just went up on the wonderful network SoundsTrue.com (where I go for a LOT of my spiritual audio needs…and that phrase "spiritual audio needs" is not one I ever imagined using, but it is indeed the truth.)
I've been a fan of Tami Simon for a long time…she's a wonderful interviewer and it was a delight to talk with her about creativity — my favorite topic.
Hope you enjoy!
LG
Weekly Wisdom
www.soundstrue.com
Wake Up Festival Pre-Festival IntensivesAugust 18–20, 2014 Mark Nepo Robert Peng Snatam Kaur Seane Corn Malidoma Patrice Somé Bruce Tift
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post Dear Ones — Here’s an interview that just went up on the wonderful network Soun… appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
One more on Mother’s Day… I love my mom. :) LG
One more on Mother's Day…
I love my mom.
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post One more on Mother’s Day… I love my mom. :) LG appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! Blessings and love to all the wonderful moms out there, and…
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
Blessings and love to all the wonderful moms out there, and gratitude to the precious ones who have gone, leaving only their teachings behind.
I am so grateful to my beautiful, strong, capable, funny mother for all she has given, and still gives me — and for making simple my answer whenever I am asked, "Who is the most influential person in your life?"
Today I will share this one example from her mighty arsenal of wisdom: "You made the best decision you could at the time, given the limits of what you knew back then."
This is what my mother always told me whenever she caught me looking back in anguish over a decision I'd come to regret, and those words have always comforted me.
Likewise, if I was ever struggling in a moment of decision, she would say, "Make your choice and then forgive yourself in advance if it turns out to have been the wrong one. Keep in mind that you are making the best decision you can, with the information you've got right now…"
She taught me how to make choices, in other words, and then how live with them — and with myself. She still teaches me that, because she's still incredibly good at it.
She taught me to be bold by being bold herself, and I love her forever for it. To decide, to forgive, to move on, and to decide again — this has been the pattern of the life she showed me how to live.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom! And THANK YOU.
Blessings to all,
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! Blessings and love to all the wonderful moms out there, and… appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
May 10, 2014
Tomorrow is Mother’s Day! And I will be lavishing praise on my own dear mother (…
Tomorrow is Mother's Day! And I will be lavishing praise on my own dear mother (and all wonderful mothers!) tomorrow accordingly!
But as for today, a friend of this page asked me if — on this Mother's Day weekend — I could re-post some words that I wrote last year on Facebook about my own choice not to become a mother. Nearly 50% of American women today of childbearing age don't have kids, and as I am one of them, I am often asked this question:
HAVE YOU EVER REGRETTED NOT HAVING CHILDREN?
So here is my answer, which I wrote last year…
A dear soul on this Facebook page asked me this question the other day, and I thought I'd make the answer public. The simple answer, blessedly, is: No.
The longer answer is that I have come to believe there are three sorts of women, when it comes to questions of maternity. There are women who are born to be mothers, women who are born to be aunties, and women who should not be allowed within ten feet of a child.
It's really important to know which category you belong to.
It can be a tragic situation (personally, for a family, and for the community at large) when a woman ends up in the wrong category, based on her true nature. Women who long for children but cannot have babies suffer enormously, as we well know, and my heart aches for their loss. But children who are born to inadequate or unprepared mothers also suffer enormously (and their mothers suffer, too—trapped in a responsibility that they can neither meet or enjoy.)
Those of us who are natural-born aunties are luckier. We love children, we enjoy children, but we know in our deepest heart that we are not supposed to have children of our own. And that is absolutely fine, as not every woman in history needs to be a mother, or would be good at it. Now, listen—if you put a baby in front of me, rest assured: that baby is going to get cuddled, spoiled and adored. But even as I'm loving on that beautiful infant, I know in my heart: This is not my destiny. It never was. And there is a curious rush of joy that I feel, knowing this to be true—for it is every bit as important in life to understand who you are NOT, as to understand who you ARE.
Me, I'm just not a mom. I bow before all good and loving mothers, but I think it's better for everyone if I create and nurture in other ways — in ways that are more suited to my talents and my heart. Having reached a contented and productive middle age, I can say without a blink of hesitation that wouldn't trade my choices for anything.
Lucky is the woman who can say that, and lucky are we ALL to be able to choose our own paths, in line with our own natures.
Blessings to everyone, and thanks for asking!
(AND DON'T FORGET TO CALL YOUR MOM!)
Heart,
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post Tomorrow is Mother’s Day! And I will be lavishing praise on my own dear mother (… appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS in Saudi Arabia…thank you, Modia!
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS in Saudi Arabia…thank you, Modia!
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Dear LG,
Loving your book in Saudi Arabia ??
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS in Saudi Arabia…thank you, Modia! appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
May 9, 2014
PERSPECTIVE. OK, so here’s a family story I woke up thinking about, for some re…
PERSPECTIVE.
OK, so here's a family story I woke up thinking about, for some reason…
Shortly after my beloved grandmother died, her three adult children gathered in her kitchen once more. This would be my father, my aunt and my uncle.
They started reminiscing, and my uncle, the youngest, said, "Remember how mom always used to take a tiny sip of our milk before she handed it to us, just to make sure it hadn't gone bad? I always thought that was so sweet and loving of her."
My dad's eyebrows flew up. "She wasn't tasting the milk to see if it had gone bad!" he corrected. "It's just that Mom had terrible eye-hand coordination, and she always overfilled the glass. She was taking the sip so she wouldn't spill the milk as she walked over to the table from the fridge. It used to drive me crazy — why couldn't she ever pour the right amount of milk on the first try?"
My aunt jumped in: "You're both wrong! She was stealing my damn milk!"
This sort of thing is why I find reality very hard to grasp. (It's also why I love my family.)
We all inhabit our own planets, people. Everyone invents their own world history. Good luck trying to reconcile any of it for a universal truth.
Which is why sometimes when I've given up on trying to see things clearly, I just try really hard to see things generously.
Just sayin'.
Happy Day,
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post PERSPECTIVE. OK, so here’s a family story I woke up thinking about, for some re… appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
May 8, 2014
My friend Barb just posted this, and she said it made her cry. So I watched it,…
My friend Barb just posted this, and she said it made her cry. So I watched it, and it also made me cry. So if you feel like crying, go for it! Keep the crying chain going! Yes!
Such a touching video about a program connecitng kids in Brazil who want to practice English with senior citizens in the States who just want someone to talk to.
Lovely humanity…
FCB Brasil and the CNA language school network are launching the Speaking Exchange project, which connects CNA students in Brazil with Americans living in re…
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post My friend Barb just posted this, and she said it made her cry. So I watched it,… appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
…then delete the voicemail.
…then delete the voicemail.
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
The post …then delete the voicemail. appeared first on Elizabeth Gilbert - The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com.
