i finished the third and final part of eat, pray, love this morning. i could have finished it sooner, but wanted to make it last as long as i could. these quotes are from the last part, about elizabeth's journey to indonesia to find balance.
"'Some people like to argue about God.'
'Not necessary,' he said, 'I have good idea, for it you meet some person from different religion and he want to make argument about God. My idea is, you listen to everything this man say about God. Never argue about God with him. Best thing to say is, 'I agree with you.' Then you go home, pray what you want. This is my idea for people to have peace about religion.' (pg 241)"
why is it so hard for us humans to abstain from arguing? we always have to be right, we always have to prove someone else wrong. it's pride. and it is the saddest problem in our world today. if people let go of their pride, wars would cease, love would abound, and there would be peace.
"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't, you will leak away your innate contentment. It's easy enought to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments. (pg 260)"
i have a best friend who once told me, "your happiness depends on you." and he is so right. we have to choose to be happy, and then work towards it. it is up to us, not anyone else, to be happy.
"If I am to truly become an autonomous woman, then I must take over that role of being my own guardian. Famously, Gloria Steinem once advised women that they should strive to become like the men they had always wanted to marry. (pg 286)"
i love this. and i so believe it to be true. woman are always complaining that their husband/boyfriend doesn't give them enough attention, aren't working enough, aren't considerate, and ultimately not perfect. who are we to complain about it, if we aren't any of those things either? sometimes, if we want to be happy, we have to take control and be exactly the type of person we want to date. then we become happy with our choices, and realize that sometimes we DON'T need a man to make us happy. we only need ourselves.
"Yet what keeps me from dissolving right now into a complete fairy-tale shimmer is this solid truth, a truth which has veritably built my bones over the last few years--I was not rescued by a prince; I was the administrator of my own rescue. (pg 329)"
this quote is at the end of the book, where elizabeth has found balance and is reflecting on her year abroad. it was not felipe coming into her life that had finally healed her, it was her future self that had saved her. it was the future elizabeth inside begging her to become what she knew she was meant to be.
i know that my future self gives me advice, and pushes me along during the moments of loneliness and sadness. i can, and will, be the administrator of my own rescue.
thank you, elizabeth gilbert, for sharing your most intimate thoughts in this wonderful memoir of your life. i would recommend this book to anyone who feels like they may have lost sight of themselves, and to anyone who feels like they need a little more balance in their lives.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
eat, pray, love "india"
just finished part 2, india. i feel that maybe elizabeth gilbert is a soul sister of mine.
"The Yogis, however, say that human discontentment is a simple case of mistaken identity. We're miserable because we think that we are mere individuals, alone with our fears and flaws and resentments and mortality. We wrongly believe that our limited little egos constitute our whole entire nature. We have failed to recognize our deeper divine character. We don't relaize that, somewhere within us all, there does exist a supreme Self who is eternally at peace. That supreme Self is our true identiry, universal and divine. (pg 122)"
this part of the book has been amazing for me to read. it is all great. this quote struck me. i believe that we all forget who we are, and it's hard for us to remember. if we became best friends with our supreme Self, and was with them at all times, we would hardly feel depression, loneliness, and anxiety. it's the most beautiful thing to be able to be eternally at peace within yourself.
"Big deal. So you fell in love with someone. Don't you see what happened? This guy touched a place in your heart deeper than you thought you were capable of reaching, I mean you got zapped, kiddo. But that love you felt, that's just the beginning. You just got a taste of love. That's just limited little rinky-dink mortal love. Wait till you see how much more deeply you can love than that. You have the capacity to someday love the whole world. It's your destiny. (pg 149)"
it's coming. i know it is. and i can't wait until it does.
"A true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. a true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave. Your problem is, you just can't let this one go. (pg 149)"
i can't. not yet.
"Letting go, of course, is a scary enterprise for those of us who believe that the world revolves only because it has a handle on the top of it which we personally turn, and that if we were to drop this handle for even a moment, well-that would be the end of the universe. But try dropping it. (pg 155)"
letting go is the hardest thing for me to do. i am a control freak, and i feel that if i relax, or can't control something, then it will be the end of all. but it won't. i don't have to be in charge. i'm not in charge, actually. so i need to let go.
"You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select what clothes you're gonna wear every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That's the only thing you should be trying to control. Drop everything else but that. Because if you can't learn to master your thinking, you're in deep trouble forever. (pg 178)"
isn't it so true? i can control my thoughts. if i'm being nostalgic and it's making me depressed, i just tell my mind no and change my thoughts. because i am in control of only my thoughts.
"The best we can do, then, in response to our incomprehensible and dangerous world, is to practice holding equilibrium internally-no matter what insanity is transpiring out there. (pg 206)"
life is crazy. the world is mad. but no matter what we see on the news or read in the paper, we can be at peace internally. it's the first step to making change around you. you can't spread peace if you aren't balanced inside.
"The Yogis, however, say that human discontentment is a simple case of mistaken identity. We're miserable because we think that we are mere individuals, alone with our fears and flaws and resentments and mortality. We wrongly believe that our limited little egos constitute our whole entire nature. We have failed to recognize our deeper divine character. We don't relaize that, somewhere within us all, there does exist a supreme Self who is eternally at peace. That supreme Self is our true identiry, universal and divine. (pg 122)"
this part of the book has been amazing for me to read. it is all great. this quote struck me. i believe that we all forget who we are, and it's hard for us to remember. if we became best friends with our supreme Self, and was with them at all times, we would hardly feel depression, loneliness, and anxiety. it's the most beautiful thing to be able to be eternally at peace within yourself.
"Big deal. So you fell in love with someone. Don't you see what happened? This guy touched a place in your heart deeper than you thought you were capable of reaching, I mean you got zapped, kiddo. But that love you felt, that's just the beginning. You just got a taste of love. That's just limited little rinky-dink mortal love. Wait till you see how much more deeply you can love than that. You have the capacity to someday love the whole world. It's your destiny. (pg 149)"
it's coming. i know it is. and i can't wait until it does.
"A true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. a true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave. Your problem is, you just can't let this one go. (pg 149)"
i can't. not yet.
"Letting go, of course, is a scary enterprise for those of us who believe that the world revolves only because it has a handle on the top of it which we personally turn, and that if we were to drop this handle for even a moment, well-that would be the end of the universe. But try dropping it. (pg 155)"
letting go is the hardest thing for me to do. i am a control freak, and i feel that if i relax, or can't control something, then it will be the end of all. but it won't. i don't have to be in charge. i'm not in charge, actually. so i need to let go.
"You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select what clothes you're gonna wear every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That's the only thing you should be trying to control. Drop everything else but that. Because if you can't learn to master your thinking, you're in deep trouble forever. (pg 178)"
isn't it so true? i can control my thoughts. if i'm being nostalgic and it's making me depressed, i just tell my mind no and change my thoughts. because i am in control of only my thoughts.
"The best we can do, then, in response to our incomprehensible and dangerous world, is to practice holding equilibrium internally-no matter what insanity is transpiring out there. (pg 206)"
life is crazy. the world is mad. but no matter what we see on the news or read in the paper, we can be at peace internally. it's the first step to making change around you. you can't spread peace if you aren't balanced inside.
Monday, August 2, 2010
eat, pray, love "italy"
i am reading eat, pray, love by elizabeth gilbert, and finding so many things that i love about it. i wanted to write a 3 part blog post about my response to the book and favorite quotes. so here goes part 1.
italy
"This was not my moment to be seeking romance and (as day follows night) to further complicate my already knotty life. This was my moment to look for the kind of healing and peace that can only come from solitude. (pg 8)"
this was the first quote that struck me. it struck me because it's what i'm going through. i find that i can be a needy, emotional person. i have before thought that the way to heal is to replace. but this is the first time i have not done that. i am going to heal myself, and it can only come from solitude. this is so hard for me, since i am so used to being surrounded or always with a significant other. but i know it's true, and it's working. i can stay home on a friday night, and read a book on the porch until it's time to go to bed. i'll admit that i'm still working on it, and there are times that loneliness and depression creep in, but i try to remind them that they are not invited to my private party.
"Still, despite all this, traveling is the great true love of my life...I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feels about her impossible, colicky, restless newborn baby-I just don't care what it puts me through. Because I adore it. Because it's mine. Because it looks exactly like me. It can barf all over me if it wants to--I just don't care. (pg 41)"
i have always known that i wanted to travel. it's such a deep rooted dream, and sometimes i feel that it will not be possible. because of my family upbringing, and our financial situations, we haven't gone on a long of vacations. i wish we had, though. this is why now, at the age of 19, i am passionate and adamant about going to england. i know i will, and even though the thought of going somewhere completely new, where no one knows your name terrifies the you know what out of me, i still want to go. because it is a part of me.
"Never forget that once upon a time, in an unguarded moment, you recognized yourself as a friend. (pg 55)"
i think i forget this a lot. in times when i feel ultimately alone, i don't realize that i have myself. i can be my own best friend. ya know, sometimes having a conversation with your self is therapeutic, and not at all crazy (depending on what you consider "crazy"). you need to love yourself, and treat yourself the way you would a best friend.
"All I had to do was ask myself every day, for the first time in my life, "What would you enjoy doing today Liz? What would bring you pleasure right now?" With nobody else's agenda to consider and no other obligations to worry about, this question finally became distilled and absolutely self-specific. (pg 63)"
i have now decided to ask myself that question every single morning. what would you like to do today, sierra? life is too short to try and go through it doing things for other people. do it for yourself. define happiness for yourself, and then go out there and do it.
"When I get lonely these days, I think: So be lonely, Liz. Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience. But never again use another person's body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilled yearnings. (pg 65)"
this quote is similar to the first one, but i love the wording. just be. be lonely. be happy. be celibate. be scared. be depressed. but whatever you do, just be. but don't ever use another person to try and fill that hole in you. getting with an ex, or having a fling won't make you feel any better, so just deal with the loneliness, and learn how to be lonely.
so be lonely, sierra.
italy
"This was not my moment to be seeking romance and (as day follows night) to further complicate my already knotty life. This was my moment to look for the kind of healing and peace that can only come from solitude. (pg 8)"
this was the first quote that struck me. it struck me because it's what i'm going through. i find that i can be a needy, emotional person. i have before thought that the way to heal is to replace. but this is the first time i have not done that. i am going to heal myself, and it can only come from solitude. this is so hard for me, since i am so used to being surrounded or always with a significant other. but i know it's true, and it's working. i can stay home on a friday night, and read a book on the porch until it's time to go to bed. i'll admit that i'm still working on it, and there are times that loneliness and depression creep in, but i try to remind them that they are not invited to my private party.
"Still, despite all this, traveling is the great true love of my life...I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feels about her impossible, colicky, restless newborn baby-I just don't care what it puts me through. Because I adore it. Because it's mine. Because it looks exactly like me. It can barf all over me if it wants to--I just don't care. (pg 41)"
i have always known that i wanted to travel. it's such a deep rooted dream, and sometimes i feel that it will not be possible. because of my family upbringing, and our financial situations, we haven't gone on a long of vacations. i wish we had, though. this is why now, at the age of 19, i am passionate and adamant about going to england. i know i will, and even though the thought of going somewhere completely new, where no one knows your name terrifies the you know what out of me, i still want to go. because it is a part of me.
"Never forget that once upon a time, in an unguarded moment, you recognized yourself as a friend. (pg 55)"
i think i forget this a lot. in times when i feel ultimately alone, i don't realize that i have myself. i can be my own best friend. ya know, sometimes having a conversation with your self is therapeutic, and not at all crazy (depending on what you consider "crazy"). you need to love yourself, and treat yourself the way you would a best friend.
"All I had to do was ask myself every day, for the first time in my life, "What would you enjoy doing today Liz? What would bring you pleasure right now?" With nobody else's agenda to consider and no other obligations to worry about, this question finally became distilled and absolutely self-specific. (pg 63)"
i have now decided to ask myself that question every single morning. what would you like to do today, sierra? life is too short to try and go through it doing things for other people. do it for yourself. define happiness for yourself, and then go out there and do it.
"When I get lonely these days, I think: So be lonely, Liz. Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience. But never again use another person's body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilled yearnings. (pg 65)"
this quote is similar to the first one, but i love the wording. just be. be lonely. be happy. be celibate. be scared. be depressed. but whatever you do, just be. but don't ever use another person to try and fill that hole in you. getting with an ex, or having a fling won't make you feel any better, so just deal with the loneliness, and learn how to be lonely.
so be lonely, sierra.
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