You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
We have hands; we can stand on them if we want to. That's our privilege. That's the joy of a mortal body. And that's why God needs us. Because God loves to feel things through our hands.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the unique ability of humans to experience the world through their physical body and actions.
Elizabeth Gilbert's quote reflects on the profound connection between humanity and the divine, suggesting that our physical existence and ability to act gives us a distinct purpose. By using our hands, we not only create and shape our environment but also allow a deeper experience of love and life, making our bodies a vessel for divine expression.
Themes
HandsPrivilegeJoyMortal BodyExperienceDivine
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech to inspire creativity in the workplace.
More from Elizabeth Gilbert
All quotes →Do not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
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.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
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?
Elizabeth GilbertRead
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.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
But never again use another person's body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilling yearnings.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
Similar quotes
Evolution does not make happiness its goal; it aims simply at evolution and nothing else.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
I cannot in all conscience agree to anyone being sent to the gallows. God alone can take life because He alone gives it . . .
Mahatma GandhiRead
Most people don't pray until they're in trouble._x000D_ _x000D_ When people need help they pray a lot._x000D_ _x000D_ But after they get what they want, they slow down._x000D_ _x000D_ If a man takes five showers a day, his body will be clean. _x000D_ _x000D_ Praying five times a day helps me clean my mind.
Muhammad AliRead
All day long he was docile, intelligent, good, Though sometimes changing to a darker mood. He seemed hypocritical, could tell better lies, in the dark he saw dots of colors behind closed eyes, clenched fists, put his tongue out at his elder brother.
Arthur RimbaudRead
Before examining this more carefully and investigating its consequences, I want to dwell for a moment in the contemplation of God, to ponder His attributes in me, to see, admire, and adore the beauty of His boundless light, insofar as my clouded insight allows. Believing that the supreme happiness of the other life consists wholly of the contemplation of divine greatness, I now find that through less perfect contemplation of the same sort I can gain the greatest joy available in this life.
Rene DescartesRead
To be radical is to grasp things by the root.
Karl MarxRead