SELF-ACCOUNTABILITY Dear Ones — I once met a single mother who told me (when…

SELF-ACCOUNTABILITY Dear Ones — I once met a single mother who told me (when…

SELF-ACCOUNTABILITY

Dear Ones —

I once met a single mother who told me (when I asked if she had anybody helping her to raise her child), "I have lots of people who will help me look after Oliver. But I'm the only person who can raise him."

I think it's a bit like that, too, with coming into your own power as an individual. When I look back at my life's journey, I can see dozens of people who have helped me along the way — but ultimately, I was the only one who could raise myself. And that didn't happen until I decided to take complete accountability for my own life.

I've been thinking a lot lately about this notion of self-accountablity. It is becoming increasingly evident to me how vital self-accountabilty is for a meaningful and happy existence. In fact, I don't know a single happy person who is not completely self-accountable.

But it's a tricky metric, because self-accountabily can sometimes be confused with self-blame. And I don't know any happy people who practice dreadful self-blame. Because self-accountabilty does not mean saying, "I fucked up, and I'm the worst person who ever lived." Nope, self-accountabilty means saying, "Well, that didn't go the way I expected it to, or wanted it to. But now I will put in the effort to learn from that experience, and to grow." And if that means reaching out for help from others, by all means, reach out for help. (Other people cannot raise you, remember, but they can indeed help you at times.) Then take that help, and use it to raise yourself up — to shape your own soul.

That part — the shaping of your soul — nobody can do for you. That's entirely your job…and I would argue that it's your only job.

This is how you learn to use your wings.

Blessings, and onward,
LG

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

#TBT — The London premiere of Eat Pray Love. October 2010. First of all, I only…

#TBT — The London premiere of Eat Pray Love. October 2010. First of all, I only…

#TBT — The London premiere of Eat Pray Love. October 2010.

First of all, I only just found out what "TBT" means. I kept seeing it on people's Facebook pages, and thought it meant "To Be Discussed," which doesn't make any sense at all, Liz, because that would be "TBD" — but I just thought everyone was spelling "D" wrong. Welcome to how my brain works.

Anyhow! I finally looked it up and figured it out! Throw Back Thursdays? That's what it is? That's what the kids are doing these days? How curious!

So here's my #TBT. This is me at the London premiere of the movie Eat Pray Love — and you can see I've really got my red carpet game on. The important thing in such a situation as to walk the carpet like you own it, to strut your stuff for the photographers, to shine for the crowd…or, perhaps, as in this case, to simply hide behind Ryan Murphy and Julia Roberts, because you aren't sure whether you're supposed to be in the picture or not!

It was such a fun night, though the day hadn't started well. I'd been on book tour in Europe for a month and I was sick and exhausted. I'd just flown in that morning from Germany, and my flight had been delayed, and I'd arrived in London looking and feeling like I'd spent the last few nights sleeping on a park bench. But my friend Rayya flew in from New York to meet me in London, carrying my dress and my fancy shoes with her, and she spent the whole afternoon patching me up — making me take a nap, ordering me scones and clotted cream, fixing my hair, doing my makeup, making me laugh, and slowly transforming me into someone who was, finally, ready to hide behind Julia Roberts. We had an absolute ball…it was truly one of the happiest and most glamorous nights of my life.

And that is today's episode of TO BE DISCUSSED!

Heart,
LG

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall