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KNOW THAT YOU ARE STRONG.

Dear friends —

A confession: I'm a baby. I was the baby of my family, and I liked that position. I tried with all my might to extend it for as long as I could. I was a fearful and tearful and clinging child. Everything alarmed me, because the world is f***ing alarming. Not only did I refuse to go into the ocean, for instance, but I also wept when I saw anyone else going to into the ocean. I ACTUALLY TRIED TO GET MY PARENTS TO MAKE PEOPLE STOP GOING IN THE OCEAN. (If i could've gotten the ocean turned off, that would have suited me, because it was bloody terrifying.) I liked being coddled and petted and comforted and basically completely tended to. It suited me, frankly. I would have liked to have been coddled my entire life, with somebody stroking my head and saying, "There, there…you don't have to go to school ever again."

The luckiest thing that ever happened to me was being born to a mother who refused to baby me after I was no longer, biologically, an actual baby.

I resented this, of course. I fought it. But she wasn't having it. And the world, not unlike my mother, also refused to baby me — frustratingly enough.

For a lot of my life, all I felt was fragile and weak. When I found people who indulged that sense of weakness in me, I was grateful. It took me a long time to realize that those were the wrong kind of people for me to be hanging around.

There's a line in that controversial "Tiger Mom" memoir where the woman says that the basic difference between Chinese mothers and American mothers is that American mothers fear their children are delicate, and Chinese mothers know without a doubt that their children are strong. This line struck me because my own mother, also, knew that her daughter was strong — even when I did not know it myself, even when I fought to prove that I was weak.

My life began to take on great proportions when I stopped trying to prove to myself or anyone else that I was delicate and tired and broken and fragile, and started remembering who I actually am: a human being who is descended from countless generations of human beings who SURVIVED. In other words, by definition: Strong.

I don't know anything about your heritage, but I can tell you without a doubt that this is who you are, too. If you are here on earth, it is because your ancestors survived. They survived unthinkable, unbearable, unsurvivable things. And you will, too.

So these days, when I feel myself getting weepy or tragic or victimized or overwhelmed or panicked or paranoid or self-pitying, I say to myself, "Sure, those are all natural feelings. No need to be ashamed of any of it. But don't dishonor the struggle and the resilience of your human inheritance by playing weak. Because we are strong."

We are not made of sugar candy, said Winston Churchill.

It's Monday morning, guys. You are more powerful than you could ever imagine. Buckle up your boots and go face it — whatever it is. Go be warriors.

FORZA,
Liz

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

Thank you, Sandra!

Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Signature of All Things pushes them all aside ♥

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

A sweet birthday HAPPINESS JAR!

Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
I made this happiness jar for my sisters' birthday. Complete with iTunes so she can download "Eat, Pray, Love". Thanks for the inspiration Liz!

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

THE EVENING COUNTDOWN CONTINUES…

Only 2 more days until "The Signature of All Things" is published!

That's almost like 0 more days, when you think about it. A negligible sum! A mere weekend's worth of time! The amount of time in which you can drive more than halfway across America if you don't take any breaks and if you're eating lots of sugary snacks…like birthday cake, for instance!

I've lost track of my reasoning. But you get the idea, right? Bear with me, friends! Just 2 more days!

Heart,
Liz

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

…and why should today be different from any other?

I am making a PARTICULAR effort to live in the moment this week. My book's coming out in 2 days, so I'm basically wound up like an eight day clock. Even though it's a GOOD excitement, I also know that these sorts of emotional spikes (good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant) can cause havoc to the nervous system, the mind, the sense of inner peace. The great teachers say we are meant to remain smooth and steady, no matter what is going on in our lives. So I've been meditating every morning (which, TRUST ME, I don't often do) and I spend much of the day making a considered effort to remain calm and at ease.

And then, at other moments, I'm like, "Oh, fuck it, I'm just gonna jump up and down and run in manic circles. And then eat a pile of cookies and hyperventilate."

So that's a tactic, too, I guess.

Because this is a REALLY exciting week!

You know how excited I am? I already packed for my book tour three days ago. Suitcase is by the door. This reminds me of my first day of school when I was six, when I laid out my clothes and readied my book bag a week in advance. And then, on the big day, I made my mom drive me to school an hour before it opened, just to make sure I wouldn't miss anything.

If you're looking for me, I'll be the one pacing.

Pace, peace…same thing!

Eat cookies.

🙂
Liz

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall