You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
I felt like I was some kind of primitive spring-loaded machine, placed under far more tension than it had ever been built to sustain, about to blast apart at great danger to anyone standing nearby. I imagined my body parts flying off my torso in order to escape the volcanic core of unhappiness that had become: me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects a struggle with internal emotional turmoil and the potential consequences of unchecked stress.
Elizabeth Gilbert uses the metaphor of a spring-loaded machine to illustrate the feeling of being under immense emotional pressure. She conveys a vivid sense of inner conflict and desperation, suggesting that such tension can lead to explosive and harmful outcomes if not addressed. This profound imagery indicates the need for self-care and emotional awareness to prevent one's inner turmoil from affecting themselves and those around them.
Themes
Emotional TurmoilStressSelf-AwarenessInner ConflictPressure
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a mental health seminar to emphasize the importance of managing stress.
More from Elizabeth Gilbert
All quotes →Do 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.
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