You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
Astonishingly, at some point, a sputtering torch was thrust into her hands. Alma did not see who gave it to her. She had never before been entrusted with fire. The torch spit sparks and sent chunks of flaming tar spinning into the air behind her as she bolted across the cosmos-the only body in the heavens who was not held to a strict elliptical path. Nobody stopped her. She was a comet. She did not know that she was not flying.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote illustrates the idea of discovering one's potential and the freedom that comes with it.
In this quote, Elizabeth Gilbert uses the metaphor of Alma receiving a torch, which symbolizes newfound power and responsibility, to convey the journey of self-discovery and liberation from constraints. Alma represents an individual who embraces her uniqueness and passion, navigating through life with the courage to forge her own path, unbound by typical expectations, much like a comet that travels freely across the cosmos.
Themes
Self-DiscoveryFreedomPotentialCourageIndividuality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could inspire someone during a graduation speech.
More from Elizabeth Gilbert
All quotes →Do not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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But never again use another person's body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilling yearnings.
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