You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
It's still two human beings trying to get along, so it's going to be complicated. And love is always complicated. But humans must try to love each other, darling. We must get our hearts broken sometimes. This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something.
Interpretation
Love can be complex and challenging, but it is essential for human connection.
In this quote, Elizabeth Gilbert reflects on the nature of love as inherently complicated due to the emotional and relational dynamics between individuals. She suggests that experiencing heartbreak is not only a natural part of love but also an indication of our willingness to engage deeply with others, emphasizing the importance of striving for connection despite the challenges it may bring.
In practice
In a speech about the complexities of relationships.
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.
She was loved deeply, but not widely
Generally, the shaking is consciously felt in its positive aspects β as the wonderful new heaven and earth which love with its miracle and mystery has suddenly produced. Love is the answer, we sing. Our Western culture seems to be engaged in a romantic - albeit desperate - conspiracy to enforce the illusion that that is all there is to eros.
Love is a fan club with only two fans.
And she moves among the sparrows. And she floats upon the breeze. She moves among the flowers. She moves something deep inside of me
I truly love my fans. Truly, truly from the heart. That's the real truth. I love them.
You - you alone will have the stars as no one else has them...In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night...You - only you - will have stars that can laugh.
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