You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
The act of quiet nighttime talking, illustrates for me more than anything else the curious alchemy of companionship.
Interpretation
Quiet conversations at night highlight the deep connection between friends or companions.
In this quote, Elizabeth Gilbert reflects on the profound bond that forms through intimate conversations during the quiet moments of the night. She suggests that these exchanges serve as a transformative force in relationships, as they allow individuals to connect deeply and share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a way that underscores the magic of companionship.
In practice
During a gathering, I quoted Gilbert to emphasize the value of deep conversations with friends.
You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Do not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots.
I had always been taught that the pursuit of happiness was my natural (even national) birthright. It is the emotional trademark of my culture to seek happiness. Not just any kind of happiness, either, but profound happiness, even soaring happiness. And what could possibly bring a person more soaring happiness than romantic love.
When I tried this morning, after an hour or so of unhappy thinking, to dip back into my meditation, I took a new idea with me: compassion. I asked my heart if it could please infuse my soul with a more generous perspective on my mind's workings. Instead of thinking that I was a failure, could I perhaps accept that I am only a human being--and a normal one, at that?
And when you sense a faint potentiality for happiness after such dark times you must grab onto the ankles of that happiness and not let go until it drags you face-first out of the dirt - this is not selfishness, but obligation. You were given life; it is your duty to find something beautiful within life no matter how slight.
But never again use another person's body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilling yearnings.
Two are better than one,because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lif' up his fellow, but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him up.
When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.
At the end of your life, it's friendships, emotions and thoughts that you take with you, rather than what's in your bank account. So, even though people don't have a lot here, they are a lot richer in many ways and we can learn from that.
To find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.
The crest and crowning of all good, life's final star, is Brotherhood.
My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.
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