You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
I had a great teacher in India who said to me, 'If you think you're spiritual and evolved and enlightened, go home for Christmas.'
Interpretation
What this quote means
True spirituality is tested by our behavior in everyday life, especially with loved ones.
This quote highlights the idea that our sense of spiritual progress and enlightenment is often challenged by interactions with family and those close to us. It suggests that being spiritually evolved is not just about personal growth and enlightenment but also about how we navigate the complex emotional dynamics of familial relationships, especially during times like the holidays.
Themes
SpiritualityRelationshipsFamilyGrowthEnlightenment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a speech about personal growth and relationships.
More from Elizabeth Gilbert
All quotes βDo not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots.
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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.
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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?
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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.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
But never again use another person's body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilling yearnings.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
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