You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
The act of quiet nighttime talking, illustrates for me more than anything else the curious alchemy of companionship.
Interpretation
Quiet conversations at night highlight the deep connection between friends or companions.
In this quote, Elizabeth Gilbert reflects on the profound bond that forms through intimate conversations during the quiet moments of the night. She suggests that these exchanges serve as a transformative force in relationships, as they allow individuals to connect deeply and share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a way that underscores the magic of companionship.
In practice
During a gathering, I quoted Gilbert to emphasize the value of deep conversations with friends.
You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Do not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots.
I had always been taught that the pursuit of happiness was my natural (even national) birthright. It is the emotional trademark of my culture to seek happiness. Not just any kind of happiness, either, but profound happiness, even soaring happiness. And what could possibly bring a person more soaring happiness than romantic love.
When I tried this morning, after an hour or so of unhappy thinking, to dip back into my meditation, I took a new idea with me: compassion. I asked my heart if it could please infuse my soul with a more generous perspective on my mind's workings. Instead of thinking that I was a failure, could I perhaps accept that I am only a human being--and a normal one, at that?
And when you sense a faint potentiality for happiness after such dark times you must grab onto the ankles of that happiness and not let go until it drags you face-first out of the dirt - this is not selfishness, but obligation. You were given life; it is your duty to find something beautiful within life no matter how slight.
But never again use another person's body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilling yearnings.
Choose your companions from the best; Who draws a bucket with the rest soon topples down the hill.
We should behave to our friends as we would wish our friends behave to us
Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, or even a stranger, if in a lonely place.
Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
I never meant to write about the experience of losing a good friend to breast cancer when I was going through it. But after it was over, I realized that although something deeply sad had happened, something truly beautiful also had.
Anyone can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend's success.
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