OPEN HOUSE THIS FRIDAY!
Darlings,
As some as you know, I am selling my absolutely lovely house in Frenchtown, NJ — complete with gardens, chef's kitchen, beautiful views, and a library in the sky (where I wrote THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS.)
It's a heaven of a place for artists, creators, writers, cooks, gardeners, families, dreamers…
We have some nibbles, but there is still a window of time to make an offer if you are interested! So this Friday May 9th, my friend Rayya Elias will host an Open House from 2 to 3:30pm.
Give Rayya a shout if you are interested, at: propertymanager3@gmail.com
And in the meantime, you can click on the link below and I'll take you on a video tour of the joint!
https://bit.ly/1i8th0D
Eat, Pray, Crib | Buy author Elizabeth Gilbert's beautiful home. – eatpraycrib.com
www.eatpraycrib.com
Dear Ones — I’m selling my beautiful perfect house. Why? Because I’m a restless person and I need to move all the time. It’s time to move, then! Otherwise, there is no sane reason to sell this exquisite and lovingly renovated “four-over-four” Italianate Victorian house that was built in 1869 by the…
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
Dear Ones:
Yesterday I wrote on Twitter, "I've never seen any life transformation that didn't begin with the person in question finally getting tired of their own bullshit."
(My own life transformation MOST DEFINITELY included.)
Can you think of an example of anyone who ever earnestly changed themselves without first doing an honest accounting of their own mess? Or without taking accountability for their own dysfunctional behaviors, their own self-inflicted dramas, their own role in the dreadful storyline, their own lies, their own manipulations, their own willful blindness, their own enabling, their own addiction to being the victim, their own addiction to aggression, to fear, to blame, to never being wrong, or to always being wrong?
I don't mean to say that transformation begins with sitting down and whipping yourself into a hot froth of shame for all your horrible faults. (Addiction to self-abuse is just another garbage storyline — another way of delaying your own transcendence and dragging attention and energy away from your destiny.)
But I've never seen any sincere transformation that didn't start with somebody sitting down and being soberly, calmly, bravely honest with herself.
My life started to change the day I finally found the clarity and maturity to say: "This is the bullshit that you keep perpetuating, Liz. And this is the bullshit that has to stop."
Curiously, this is a moment that didn't happen merely once in my life; it has happened several times, around several different key emotional issues. I just had another big emotional epiphany in the last several months, which has brought along another long overdue shift in my own behavior toward others. But the first step is always, always, ALWAYS identifying my own role in the problem. And then refusing to accept any arguments from myself about my ability to change that storyline. Get whatever help you need to change it, but change it. Once you are clear and decided, the wheels of transformation start to turn.
Don't let your ego or your damage con you into thinking that change is possible for other people, but not for you.
Don't be seduced by your limitations. They have nothing to offer you but stagnation.
Heart,
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
$5000 for your brilliant college-bound kid…?
Dear Ones!
I wanted to tell you about this really cool contest, which not only rewards great writing, but is judged by great writers…
If you know and love a high school senior, let them know about "Extra Credit" – a scholarship program recognizing excellent college application essays. Just have the kid post their gorgeous slaved-over essay on Medium.com (link is below) by May 19 and somebody could win $5,000 for college!
The judges are an amazing line-up: Wally Lamb, Anna Quindlen, Mary Roach, Jeff Kinney and my pal Kelly Corrigan.
Winners will be announced June 2.
https://ift.tt/1djBbJ7
What a wonderful way to recognize and reward talented future-writers…
🙂
LG
Extra Credit FAQ
medium.com
Everything you need to know
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
Dear Ones —
I am laughing as I'm writing this.
A friend of this page named Maggie McGarvey made this poster and sent it to me today. This is an exact quote of mine — blunders and all — from an interview that I gave in Melbourne, Australia recently.
What I was trying to say here is the same thing I'm always trying to say to people who wish to live creative lives — THAT YOU MUST ALLOW BOTH YOUR WORK AND YOURSELF TO BE IMPERFECT.
You've heard me say before my mother's famous quote, "Done is better than good," and you will hear me say it again.
The demons of perfectionism do more to obstruct and harm artists than almost any other negative force. Those demons can only be battled if you are willing to let go of the idea that your work must be immaculate, or nothing. I say it's better that it's finished, and flawed. A flawed finish is a giant victory. Any finish is a giant victory.
For me, the first revelation of this truth came when I was writing my novel STERN MEN, back in the twenties. I was terrified and insecure. I had never written a novel, and didn't know if I could pull it off. I had only made my job harder by having decided to write about a world I do not know (lobster fishing islands off the coast of Maine) and I felt gravely lacking in authority about my material.
I was about 75 pages into my book when I got stopped by my own fear — and also by the certainty that my feeble attempt at a novel sucked. There were tears, yes, there were hot desperate tears. And there was shame. It was deliciously tempting to quit.
But then I said to myself, "I am NOT going to be one of those people who goes to her grave with 75 pages of an unfinished novel in her desk drawer."
I made a commitment at that moment to finish the book, even though I didn't like my novel or believe in myself. I kept writing just out of pure stubbornness, and as a way of giving the middle finger to the bullies of my own fear.
I also remembered that I had made a promise to myself and to the universe years earlier that I would be a writer. I never promised I would be a GOOD writer, mind you. I just promised I would be a writer. So I had to finish.
And in conclusion, I thought, "If anybody doesn't like my novel, then they can go write their own fucking books. But mine will be DONE."
Because done is better than good.
Thank you, Maggie, for making this poster!
(And if anyone wants to see the whole talk, from which this marvelously inarticulate quote was taken, you can find it here: https://bit.ly/1fA6hhb)
COURAGE AND PERSISTANCE, CREATORS!
LG
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
This is beautiful…thank you, Miranda!
Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Made some pottery… inspired by one of my favorite books! — at Langford, British Columbia.
via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall
