You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
Big deal. So you fell in love with someone. Don’t you see what happened? This guy touched a place in your heart deeper than you thought you were capable of reaching, I mean you got zapped, kiddo. But that love you felt, that’s just the beginning. You just got a taste of love. That’s just limited little rinky-dink mortal love. Wait till you see how much more deeply you can love than that. Heck, Groceries—you have the capacity to someday love the whole world. It’s your destiny. Don’t laugh.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the profundity and potential of love, suggesting that what we experience is just the beginning of our capacity to love deeply.
Elizabeth Gilbert's quote reflects on the transformative power of love, emphasizing that the feeling we often perceive as deep is merely a taste of the greater love we are capable of experiencing. The quote encourages individuals to recognize that their capacity for love extends beyond romantic attachments to a universal, profound love for the world and humanity, suggesting a destiny where love becomes an expansive force in their lives.
Themes
LoveCapacityDestinyHeartDepth
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal growth, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of recognizing the vast potential of love in our lives.
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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