Elizabeth Gilbert's Blog, page 69
May 7, 2014
A humble suggestion for a very sweet gift…? :) LG
A humble suggestion for a very sweet gift…?
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
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OPEN HOUSE THIS FRIDAY! Darlings, As some as you know, I am selling my absolut…
OPEN HOUSE THIS FRIDAY!
Darlings,
As some as you know, I am selling my absolutely lovely house in Frenchtown, NJ — complete with gardens, chef's kitchen, beautiful views, and a library in the sky (where I wrote THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS.)
It's a heaven of a place for artists, creators, writers, cooks, gardeners, families, dreamers…
We have some nibbles, but there is still a window of time to make an offer if you are interested! So this Friday May 9th, my friend Rayya Elias will host an Open House from 2 to 3:30pm.
Give Rayya a shout if you are interested, at: propertymanager3@gmail.com
And in the meantime, you can click on the link below and I'll take you on a video tour of the joint!
Eat, Pray, Crib | Buy author Elizabeth Gilbert's beautiful home. – eatpraycrib.com
www.eatpraycrib.com
Dear Ones — I’m selling my beautiful perfect house. Why? Because I’m a restless person and I need to move all the time. It’s time to move, then! Otherwise, there is no sane reason to sell this exquisite and lovingly renovated “four-over-four” Italianate Victorian house that was built in 1869 by the…
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
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Dear Ones: Yesterday I wrote on Twitter, “I’ve never seen any life transformati…
Dear Ones:
Yesterday I wrote on Twitter, "I've never seen any life transformation that didn't begin with the person in question finally getting tired of their own bullshit."
(My own life transformation MOST DEFINITELY included.)
Can you think of an example of anyone who ever earnestly changed themselves without first doing an honest accounting of their own mess? Or without taking accountability for their own dysfunctional behaviors, their own self-inflicted dramas, their own role in the dreadful storyline, their own lies, their own manipulations, their own willful blindness, their own enabling, their own addiction to being the victim, their own addiction to aggression, to fear, to blame, to never being wrong, or to always being wrong?
I don't mean to say that transformation begins with sitting down and whipping yourself into a hot froth of shame for all your horrible faults. (Addiction to self-abuse is just another garbage storyline — another way of delaying your own transcendence and dragging attention and energy away from your destiny.)
But I've never seen any sincere transformation that didn't start with somebody sitting down and being soberly, calmly, bravely honest with herself.
My life started to change the day I finally found the clarity and maturity to say: "This is the bullshit that you keep perpetuating, Liz. And this is the bullshit that has to stop."
Curiously, this is a moment that didn't happen merely once in my life; it has happened several times, around several different key emotional issues. I just had another big emotional epiphany in the last several months, which has brought along another long overdue shift in my own behavior toward others. But the first step is always, always, ALWAYS identifying my own role in the problem. And then refusing to accept any arguments from myself about my ability to change that storyline. Get whatever help you need to change it, but change it. Once you are clear and decided, the wheels of transformation start to turn.
Don't let your ego or your damage con you into thinking that change is possible for other people, but not for you.
Don't be seduced by your limitations. They have nothing to offer you but stagnation.
Heart,
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
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May 6, 2014
$5000 for your brilliant college-bound kid…? Dear Ones! I wanted to tell you…
$5000 for your brilliant college-bound kid…?
Dear Ones!
I wanted to tell you about this really cool contest, which not only rewards great writing, but is judged by great writers…
If you know and love a high school senior, let them know about "Extra Credit" – a scholarship program recognizing excellent college application essays. Just have the kid post their gorgeous slaved-over essay on Medium.com (link is below) by May 19 and somebody could win $5,000 for college!
The judges are an amazing line-up: Wally Lamb, Anna Quindlen, Mary Roach, Jeff Kinney and my pal Kelly Corrigan.
Winners will be announced June 2.
What a wonderful way to recognize and reward talented future-writers…
LG
Extra Credit FAQ
medium.com
Everything you need to know
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
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Dear Ones — I am laughing as I’m writing this. A friend of this page named Mag…
Dear Ones —
I am laughing as I'm writing this.
A friend of this page named Maggie McGarvey made this poster and sent it to me today. This is an exact quote of mine — blunders and all — from an interview that I gave in Melbourne, Australia recently.
What I was trying to say here is the same thing I'm always trying to say to people who wish to live creative lives — THAT YOU MUST ALLOW BOTH YOUR WORK AND YOURSELF TO BE IMPERFECT.
You've heard me say before my mother's famous quote, "Done is better than good," and you will hear me say it again.
The demons of perfectionism do more to obstruct and harm artists than almost any other negative force. Those demons can only be battled if you are willing to let go of the idea that your work must be immaculate, or nothing. I say it's better that it's finished, and flawed. A flawed finish is a giant victory. Any finish is a giant victory.
For me, the first revelation of this truth came when I was writing my novel STERN MEN, back in the twenties. I was terrified and insecure. I had never written a novel, and didn't know if I could pull it off. I had only made my job harder by having decided to write about a world I do not know (lobster fishing islands off the coast of Maine) and I felt gravely lacking in authority about my material.
I was about 75 pages into my book when I got stopped by my own fear — and also by the certainty that my feeble attempt at a novel sucked. There were tears, yes, there were hot desperate tears. And there was shame. It was deliciously tempting to quit.
But then I said to myself, "I am NOT going to be one of those people who goes to her grave with 75 pages of an unfinished novel in her desk drawer."
I made a commitment at that moment to finish the book, even though I didn't like my novel or believe in myself. I kept writing just out of pure stubbornness, and as a way of giving the middle finger to the bullies of my own fear.
I also remembered that I had made a promise to myself and to the universe years earlier that I would be a writer. I never promised I would be a GOOD writer, mind you. I just promised I would be a writer. So I had to finish.
And in conclusion, I thought, "If anybody doesn't like my novel, then they can go write their own fucking books. But mine will be DONE."
Because done is better than good.
Thank you, Maggie, for making this poster!
(And if anyone wants to see the whole talk, from which this marvelously inarticulate quote was taken, you can find it here: http://bit.ly/1fA6hhb)
COURAGE AND PERSISTANCE, CREATORS!
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
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This is beautiful…thank you, Miranda!
This is beautiful…thank you, Miranda!
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Made some pottery… inspired by one of my favorite books! — at Langford, British Columbia.
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
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May 5, 2014
A Twitter friend shared this yesterday…seems a lovely sentiment for launching a…
A Twitter friend shared this yesterday…seems a lovely sentiment for launching a Monday!
Take it easy on you, OK? You're the one person you have the spend the most time with on earth. Try to get along with you…
Heart,
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
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May 4, 2014
Happy Sunday Reading! (Click here for interviews, reading guides, book trailer,…
Happy Sunday Reading!
(Click here for interviews, reading guides, book trailer, reviews and other goodies: http://bit.ly/1baL9vg)
Heart,
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
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A reminder today from our favorite 17th century Puritan poetess, Anne Bradstreet…
A reminder today from our favorite 17th century Puritan poetess, Anne Bradstreet.
I was thinking of Mrs. Bradstreet the other day, when I found this poem she wrote about the aftermath of her house burning down in 1666…a few powerful verses about what it feels like to lose everything except faith:
"And when I could no longer look,
I blest His grace that gave and took,
That laid my goods now in the dust,
Yea, so it was, and so 'twas just."
A toast to new beginnings, and to graceful endings.
To spring!
Heart,
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
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May 3, 2014
THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL IN A CREATIVE PERSON’S LIFE… Dear Ones, Do you want t…
THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL IN A CREATIVE PERSON'S LIFE…
Dear Ones,
Do you want to be a writer? A musician? An artist? A maker of any sort or variety whatsoever?
Do you long to express yourself, to create, to innovate, to (as Kurt Vonnegut taught us yesterday) "experience becoming"?
Well, then. Today I introduce you to the most important tool in your arsenal: The humble kitchen timer.
Do you own one of these? If you don't own one, can you afford to go out and buy one? Do you maybe have a more modern interpretation of this device already on your smartphone?
Good.
Now here is what you do. At some point today, you sit down and set that timer for 30 minutes. Work on your craft or your project without interruption or distraction. Doesn't have to be major work — just has to be focused work. Don't get up from your seat until the timer dings. Then do the same thing tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day. And the next day…
The immortal John Updike once said, "Some of the best books in the world were written in an hour a day."
I disagree. You can do it in 30 minutes.
And I'm telling you — you HAVE 30 minutes a day. For some reason, an hour seems impossible to most of us, but 30 minutes is in reach.
You don't need to quit your job to be an artist. You don't need to take out a heart-stopping loan in order to get an advance degree in creativity. You don't need to move to Paris. You don't need to change your life.
You just need to bow down before the humble kitchen timer, every single day.
I bring this up because this week somebody asked me how to learn discipline, and I remembered the way my mom taught it to me. My whole life as a child was determined by her little white kitchen timer. And I seem to remember that it was always set to 30 minutes.
30 minutes for piano practice. 30 minutes for math homework. 30 minutes to study French verbs. 30 minutes to write thank you notes after Christmas. 30 minutes to finish that goddamn diorama for 5th grade social studies class of Hannibal crossing the alps in a shoebox. 30 minutes to practice hitting balls around in the backyard in preparation for softball season. 30 minutes to clean your bedroom.
Do you have any idea how much you can get done when you focus your attention on something for 30 minutes a day?
Can you imagine the shape you would be in, if you exercised seriously for 30 minutes a day? Can you imagine the languages you could learn in that little block of time, if you kept it up? How much your drawing would improve? How much better your garden would be? Your guitar playing? How much ANYTHING improves, in 30 minutes a day, honored consistently?
Is it glamorous? Nope. Is it dramatic? Nope. Is it effective? THE MOST.
I am 44 years old and I am working on my seventh book right now. I am busy with other things. I don't have the hours I long for to devote myself completely to researching and writing this story. I may have those hours at some point in 2015, but I don't have them now. My inbox is filled with emails. My desk is covered with mail. I am behind on a hundred promises. I have not unpacked my suitcase this whole year. But fuck it. I'm not waiting around for life to be perfect before I work on my vocation. And 30 minutes isn't going to make or break anything.
So I set the timer on my iPhone for a half hour every single day and I work on that novel. I've been doing this for months now. I do it in airports, in hotel rooms, in taxis, between interviews, backstage at the TED conference, whenever I can find that little humble block of time. It is not the ideal working environment. It is not the ideal block of time. And you know what? It doesn't matter. My new book is GROWING LIKE A WEED.
Don't wait for the world to clear out time and space for your dreams and your art. It doesn't happen that way. The world rushes in, and always will. Wait for things to be perfect and you'll die waiting. Push back a bit. You go get yourself a kitchen timer and clear out your own little space. You'll be amazed what happens.
Every single day. 30 minutes. I'm serious.
Heart,
LG
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