#TBT
Today's throwback: Me in 1997, standing in front of my parent's house, proudly holding a copy of my very first book, PILGRIMS.
I loved that suit so much. (It was my first suit. Actually, it was my first suit until last year…) I loved that haircut, too. (I thought I looked like Demi Moore. You guys, I don't look like Demi Moore.)
I felt so freakin' SLICK!
Slick and proud.
I also remember thinking, "This is probably the only book I will ever write." I had nothing left in me after those short stories were all gathered. I'd been working on those stories since I was about 17. (I was 27 in this photo.) I thought, "This might be all I've got." I thought, "This will probably be the peak experience of my life."
It's a thought I still have, whenever I finish a book. ("Well, I'm drained — nothing left. My work on earth is done.") But I've learned over the years that you SHOULD feel that way, once a creative project is done. You should feel that you have put everything you've got into it. That you've left nothing on the field.
Only then, emptied, can new ideas approach.
And oh my goodness, thank the stars of inspiration, the new ideas DO approach. They inch toward you; you inch toward them. Then we begin all over again…
Thank god our work is never done.
ONWARD,
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
I am so proud of Emma Watson for this speech.
I don't know if you've all seen it yet, but it left me teary and stirred and hopeful. Please do watch it. She is launching a wonderful movement here for men and women alike.
Like Ms. Watson, I identify myself as a feminist. I use that word with absolute comfort. Even more so, I identify myself as a BENEFICIARY of feminism — along with nearly every woman in the modern Western world. There is not a single freedom in my life (political, financial, biological, vocational) that I do not owe to the work of stronger, braver, smarter women who came before me, and who cleared the path so that I could enjoy (and sometimes even take for granted) the liberties of selfhood.
My crown was paid for with their sacrifice.
I figure the least I can do in return is be grateful to those women — my heroic foremothers — and to use with pride the word they chose for themselves. So, yes, I am a feminist and always will be.
(As I said in a recent interview, "It seems rude NOT to call yourself a feminist, given what feminism delivered to us.")
To see a young woman of Emma Watson's age and stature taking a stand like this with such grace, such intelligence…well, it is deeply important and inspiring. BRAVA.
So watch this video.
And do go LIKE the Facebook page for Ms. Watson's movement: https://ift.tt/1vaCsaH
ONWARD. Onward, indeed.
LG
https://bit.ly/1r8CzUM
Emma Watson HeForShe Speech at the United Nations | UN Women 2014
UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador, Emma Watson, delivers her moving remarks during the HeForShe Special Event at United Nations Headquarters in New York on…
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS and a fan (who never gets in trouble from her mom for reading in low light!)
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
We have 2 more cats but this one seems to really like your book! I loved this book, thanks great read!
Sherry from Doaktown, New Brunswick, Canada
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
A friend of this page made this image, from a quote of mine and I love it!
I am so goddamn stubborn about living a happy life — about pushing toward the light, climbing up that hill toward wonder. I don't know if people realize sometimes what a full-time job it is. Waiting for happiness to fall on your head out of the sky isn't going to get you there. Stubborn gladness doesn't come out of nowhere; you fight for it. You push back against despair. I look hard for miracle and beauty and joy every day. I could look just as hard for misery and sorrow every day (and would not have any trouble finding it) but I aim myself in the other direction, with real focus and determination. It's a big job, staying afloat on contentment, but it's such a worthy job.
Anyhow, what else are you going to do with your life? Because the alternatives to fighting for happiness are all pretty lousy, right? (AS EVIDENCED EVERYWHERE.)
Fight for the light, dear ones. Fight like the devil.
ONWARD,
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
Who goes to a NUDE BEACH and only sends photos of a book jacket?! This made me smile…and I love the idea of Michelle's adventure for herself. Lovely.
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
After 6 years of FULL on mothering I took a break and had 10 delicious days to read a book, relaxedly, for the first time in a long time. This is the book I chose and this is a beautiful nudist beach in Mallorca where I also first read about Alma's quim…interesting timing!
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
