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Thought of the Day: DON’T LIVE SOMEBODY ELSE’S DREAM. Dear Ones – I found this…

Nov 1, 2014

Thought of the Day: DON'T LIVE SOMEBODY ELSE'S DREAM.

Dear Ones –

I found this picture today that my husband took of me in 2011, doing research for THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS. This photo captures exactly what I did for three straight years. I sat in a chair, reading books about botany, evolution, abolition, women's history, missionaries, Dutch 18th century commerce, and more…in order to fill my brains (and index cards) with enough information to write that novel.

There is no situation in which I could possibly be happier than this — submerged in the vocation that I love, vanishing for hours a day into my work.

Un-showered, greasy hair, eyes tired, totally falling down the rabbit hole of research…this is me, living my dream.

I was thinking today about all the other paths that I did not take in life, no matter how shiny and appealing they may have looked. I've had the possibility of living so many different kinds of life that could have been a dream for somebody else. I never choose those lives. I've never lived the dreams that other people wanted for themselves — nor have I lived the dreams that other people may have wanted for me.

I never had children…because that's somebody else's dream.

I never took the opportunities that were offered to me after the success of EAT PRAY LOVE to have a TV show of my own…because that's somebody else's dream.

I never took a good steady job teaching writing at a nice college…because that's somebody else's dream.

I didn't remain in Bali or Rome, gorgeous as those places are…because that's somebody else's dream.

I turn down 99% of the invitations I get to attend to fancy parties and stellar gatherings…because that's somebody else's dream.

I sold my big beautiful house with its fabulous gardens and lovely library…because one day I looked around at that gorgeous home and realized: "This is somebody else's dream." (Happily, I sold the house to the family whose dream it actually was. So we all win.)

I never hired a team of personal assistants and staff and consultants to help me "grow my brand"…because that's somebody else's dream.

I know what makes me come to life — working on my books — and this picture tells the whole story. Knowing what makes me come to life has helped me to distinguish between my dreams and the dreams of others.

WHAT MAKES YOU COME TO LIFE?

Ask yourself this question, whenever you are given any choice or opportunity. Ask: "Will saying YES to this path bring me closer to the source that brings me to life? Or will it take me further away?"

No matter how alluring, no matter how beautiful, no matter how sparkling and fancy and delicious — do not say YES to other people's dreams.

Do your own thing. Live in your own waking dream. Stubbornly.

Even if it means not washing your hair for a week. (ESPECIALLY if it means that!)

ONWARD,
LG

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

FRIDAY HOUSEKEEPING! Dear Ones – We get a lot of new people joining this Faceb…

Oct 31, 2014

FRIDAY HOUSEKEEPING!

Dear Ones –

We get a lot of new people joining this Facebook page every day (thank you for joining our little community, new folks!) so once a week, I try to give everyone all the information they might want, about other places on the Internet to find me.

So let’s run down the list:

My website is https://ift.tt/sUqSyM. There, you can find information on all my upcoming events, see videos, read my thoughts on the writing process, and download book club guides to my books!

I have an email newsletter (where I always reveal my big news first, see exclusive home videos, and sometimes run contests, when I remember to.) You can join the newsletter by clicking the icon on the left of this page called "LizNews" and signing up. (You can also sign up for LizNews on the homepage of my website.)

You can follow me on Twitter, where I basically just goof off, at: https://ift.tt/1tJzIxR

You can follow me on Instagram (which I just started because some 14-year-olds told me to) at:

https://ift.tt/1tJzIO7.

You can follow me on Pinterest (that addictive crack house, whose vortex I try not to tumble down too often because it’s a gorgeous suckhole) at: https://ift.tt/1tJzKpd

And if you EVER want to buy to buy signed copies of ANY of my books, you can buy them online through the shop, Two Buttons, that I run in New Jersey with my husband (otherwise known as “that Brazilian guy”.) The link is right here: https://ift.tt/1pfR7PX

That is all, my dears!

(And yes, in all these various social media forums, it is actually ME doing the posting, the chatting, the responding, the pinning, the time-wasting. I like it. It’s fun. I like hanging out with you guys. I’m glad you like hanging out with me. Also, I have no children and my husband cooks, so I have plenty of extra time on my hands…)

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Thanks for everything!

ONWARD,
LG

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

Dear Ones – The biggest incentive I have for learning how to let go of my bitt…

Oct 30, 2014

Dear Ones –

The biggest incentive I have for learning how to let go of my bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, regret, anger, and blame is when I see the faces of other people who have held onto those dark impulses for their whole lives.

Close your eyes for a moment and picture the most bitter person you've ever known.

See what I mean?

Does that person not look like he/she is being dragged through hell — and maybe is dragging everyone else down to hell with him/her?

Is that really the way you want to go?

This is what I ask myself, when I find myself making justifications and exceptions for my own anger (like: "I know, I know, we are supposed to be forgiving and gracious of everyone, but I got REALLY screwed by that guy!"). As though my bitterness is something special, something worth protecting and defending. As though people of grace have not also been screwed over (way worse than me) and yet somehow they rise above it.

Now take a moment and close your eyes and picture the most forgiving and compassionate person you've ever met.

Isn't that the face you want to have someday?

That light? That peace?

That's certainly the face I want.

But I know that you don't just get that face for free. You must work for it, like a miner buried under a collapsed roof.

Do the work. Do whatever you have to do to get there — therapy, prayer, contemplation, ceremony, atonement, study. Start digging toward the light.

Don't allow yourself be dragged to hell while you're still alive.

Let it go,
LG

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall