You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight.
Interpretation
What this quote means
It is our responsibility to seek beauty in our lives, regardless of how small it may be.
This quote emphasizes the inherent duty and right of every person to discover and appreciate the beauty that exists within their lives. Elizabeth Gilbert highlights that life, even with its challenges, offers moments of beauty that we must actively seek out to enrich our experience and fulfill our human potential.
Themes
LifeBeautyDutyEntitlementAppreciation
In practice
Example use cases
Sharing this quote during a motivational speech to inspire others to find joy in their everyday lives.
More from Elizabeth Gilbert
All quotes →Do not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
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.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
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?
Elizabeth GilbertRead
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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