You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
I feel like there are women who are genuinely born to be mothers, and women who are born to be aunties, and women who really probably not should be allowed near children. The tragedy that happens is when any one of those women ends up in the wrong category.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the different roles women can have in family dynamics, emphasizing the importance of placing individuals in the right roles for optimal relationships.
In this quote, Elizabeth Gilbert observes that women can have different innate roles in family life, such as being nurturing mothers, supportive aunts, or, conversely, individuals who may not connect well with children. The tragedy occurs when someone is placed in a role that doesn't suit them, leading to disappointment for both the individual and the children involved. This highlights the need for understanding and respecting individual differences in caregiving capacities.
Themes
MotherhoodRolesFamilyChildrenRelationships
In practice
Example use cases
During a family gathering, discussing the different roles women play in children's 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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