Elizabeth Gilbert: I have more compassion than if I had led a life whe...

What worked yesterday doesn't always work today.

Elizabeth Gilbert

bali-eat-pray-love yesterday today

There's a part of me which has always wanted to hear a man say, "Let me take care of you forever," and I have never heard it spoken before. Over the last few years, I'd given up looking for that person, learned how to say this heartening sentence to myself, especially in times of fear. But to hear it from someone else now, from someone who is speaking sincerely.

Elizabeth Gilbert

forever men years

This was my voice, but perfectly wise, calm and compassionate. This was what my voice would sound like if I’d only ever experienced love and certainty in my life. How can I describe the warmth of affection in that voice, as it gave me the answer that would forever seal my faith in the divine?

Elizabeth Gilbert

voice wise forever

Soon you start craving that intense attention with the hungry obsession of any junkie. When the drug is withheld you probably turn sick, crazy and depleted not to mention resentful of the dealer who encourage this addiction in the first place but who now refuses to pony up the good stuff anymore despite that you know that he has it hidden somewhere God dammit because you know that he used to give it to you for free.

Elizabeth Gilbert

addiction crazy giving

It's so much easier and cheaper to keep the river uncontaminated in the first place than it is to clean it up again once it's been polluted.

Elizabeth Gilbert

clean rivers firsts

Let your conscience be your guide.

Elizabeth Gilbert

wish-upon-a-star animated-movies guides

I wondered, "Why have I been chasing happiness my whole life when bliss was here the entire time?

Elizabeth Gilbert

whole-life bliss chasing

Infatuation is not quite the same thing as love; it's more like love's shady second cousin who's always borrowing money and can't hold down a job.

Elizabeth Gilbert

like-love cousin jobs

We can change our wives,” he said. “We can change our jobs, our nationalities and even our religions, but we can never change our team.

Elizabeth Gilbert

wife team jobs

I wonder if I am capable of being somebody’s sun, somebody’s everything. Am I centered enough now to be the center of somebody else’s life?

Elizabeth Gilbert

enough wonder sun

the four virtues a person needs in order to be safe and happy in life: intelligence, friendship, strength and (I love this one) poetry.

Elizabeth Gilbert

order happy-life needs

Il bel far niente means 'the beauty of doing nothing'... [it] has always been a cherished Italian ideal. The beauty of doing nothing is the goal of all your work, the final accomplishment for which you are most highly congratulated. The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life's achievement. You don't necessarily need to be rich in order to experience this, either.

Elizabeth Gilbert

italian order mean

I want to explore the art of pleasure in Italy, the art of devotion in India and, in Indonesia, the art of balancing the two. It was only later, after admitting this dream, that I noticed the happy coincidence that all these countries begin with the letter I. A fairly auspicious sign, it seemed, on a voyage of self-discovery.

Elizabeth Gilbert

dream country art

Maybe this is just some stupid romantic South American idea, but I need you to understand-darling, for you, I am even willing to suffer. Whatever pain happens to us in the future, I accept it already, just for the pleasure of being with you now. Let's enjoy this time. It's marvelous. Felipe-Eat, Pray, Love

Elizabeth Gilbert

pain stupid ideas

We're already separated that's official but there's still a window of hope left open that perhaps someday we could give things another try.

Elizabeth Gilbert

trying giving window

In every possible instance Saint Paul begged Christians to restrain themselves to contain their carnal yearnings to live solitary and sexless lives on earth as it is in heaven. "But if they cannot contain " Paul finally conceded then "let them marry for it is better to marry than to burn." Which is perhaps the most begrudging endorsement of matrimony in human history.

Elizabeth Gilbert

saint christian heaven

You must find another reason to work, other than the desire for success or recognition. It must come from another place.

Elizabeth Gilbert

desire-for-success recognition desire

A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake.

Elizabeth Gilbert

what-is-love wall soul

too many maniacs not enough michelangelos

Elizabeth Gilbert

maniacs enough

I would say that if you really want to STOP knowing someone, you have to divorce him.

Elizabeth Gilbert

divorce knowing want

I have more compassion than if I had led a life where everything worked out exactly as I had planned or if I had never been wounded or if I had never been betrayed or I had never been harmed. I don't think I would be as good a person.