Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Related Quotes

Elizabeth Gilbert

I watched them, thinking that little girls who make their mothers live grow up to be such powerful women.

Addiction | Blame | Good | Irony | Looks | Love | Object | Obsession | Soul | Suffering |

William Shakespeare

Some sins do bear their privilege on earth, And so doth yours; your fault was not your folly.

Birth | Power | Spirit |

Elizabeth Gilbert

Addiction is typical in all love stories based on infatuation.

Addiction | Good | Love | Object | Obsession |

Elizabeth Gilbert

For you, I am even willing to suffer. Whatever pain happens to us in the future, I accept it already, just for the pleasure of being with you now. Let’s enjoy this time. It’s marvelous.

History | Love | Regard | Risk | Waiting | Victim |

Elizabeth Gilbert

Most of humanity, he said, have eyes that are so caked shut with the dust of deception they will never see the truth, no matter who tries to help them.

Energy | Good | Love | People | Qualities | Will | Think |

Elizabeth Gilbert

But whenever I see it happen, I always want to say the same thing. Good luck. Because you still have a woman in front of you, my friend. And you are still a man. It’s still two human beings trying to get along, so it’s going to become complicated. And love is always complicated. But still humans must try to love each other, darling. We must get our hearts broken sometimes. This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something.

Beauty | Life | Life | Love | Will | Beauty |

Elizabeth Gilbert

Is it logical that anybody should be expected to be afraid of the work that they feel they were put on this earth to do?

Day | Freedom | Grace | Heart | Intention | Life | Life | Love | Nothing | Past | Relationship | Resolution | Rest | Suffering | Time | Forgive |

Elizabeth Gilbert

Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I might become if I'm not careful: Crazy Aunt Liz. The divorcee in the muumuu with the dyed orange hair who doesn't eat dairy but smokes menthols, who's always just coming back from her astrology cruise or breaking up with her aroma-therapist boyfriend, who reads the Tarot cards of kindergarteners and says things like, Bring Aunty Liz another wine cooler, baby, and I'll let you wear my mood ring...

Capacity | Heart | Little | Love | Mortal | Taste | Thought | Thought |

Elizabeth Gilbert

Destiny, I feel is also a relationship-a play between grace and willful self-effort. Half of it you have no control over, half of it is absolutely in your hands and your actions will show measurable consequences. Man is neither entirely a puppet of the gods, nor is he entirely the captain of his own destiny; he’s a little of both. We gallop through our lives like circus performers balancing on two speeding side-by-side horses-one foot is on the horse called fate the other on the horse called free will. And the question you have to ask everyday is, which horse is which? Which horse do I need to stop worrying about because it’s not under my control, and which do I need to steer with concentrated effort?

Love |

Elizabeth Gilbert

I don't believe in magic, but I do believe in interpreting coincidence exactly the way you want

Love | Need |

Elizabeth Gilbert

I’m not laughing. I was actually crying. And please don’t laugh at me now, but I think the reason it’s so hard for me to get over this guy is because I seriously believed David was my soul mate. He probably was. Your problem is you don’t understand what that word means. People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that’s holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you’ll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave. And thank God for it. Your problem is, you just can’t let this one go. It’s over, Groceries. David’s purpose was to shake you up, drive you out of your marriage that you needed to leave, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light could get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you had to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master and beat it. That was his job, and he did great, but now it’s over. Problem is, you can’t accept that his relationship had a real short shelf life. You’re like a dog at the dump, baby – you’re just lickin’ at the empty tin can, trying to get more nutrition out of it. And if you’re not careful, that can’s gonna get stuck on your snout forever and make your life miserable. So drop it.But I love him. So love him. But I miss him. So miss him. Send him some love and light every time you think about him, then drop it. You’re just afraid to let go of the last bits of David because then you’ll be really alone, and Liz Gilbert is scared to death of what will happen if she’s really alone. But here’s what you gotta understand, Groceries. If you clear out all that space in your mind that you’re using right now to obsess about this guy, you’ll have a vacuum there, an open spot – a doorway. And guess what the universe will do with the doorway? It will rush in – God will rush in – and fill you with more love than you ever dreamed. So stop using David to block that door. Let it go.

Care | Death | Depression | Loneliness | Love | Need | Nothing | Will |

Elizabeth Gilbert

Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience.

Fear | Giving | Happy | Love | Will | Learn |

William Shakespeare

Sweep on, you fat and greasy citizens; 'tis just the fashion. Wherefore do you look Upon that poor and broken bankrupt there? As You Like It (First Lord at II, i)

Love |

Elizabeth Gilbert

All I could say was, I don't know what to do. I remember her taking me by the shoulders and looking me in the eye with a calm smile and saying simply, Tell the truth, tell the truth, tell the truth.

Love |

Elizabeth Gilbert

But why must everything have a practical application? I'd been such a diligent soldier for years - working, producing, never missing a deadline, taking care of my loved ones, my gums and my credit record, voting, etc. Is this lifetime supposed to be only about duty? In this dark period of loss, did I need any justification for learning Italian other than that it was the only thing I could imagine bringing me any pleasure right now?

Good | Love | Means | Woman |

Elizabeth Gilbert

If I were going to have such a short visit on earth, I had to do everything possible to experience it now.

Energy | Good | Love | Qualities | Will |

Elizabeth Gilbert

But I don't know how much more socializing I can do, Felipe. I only have the one dress. People will start to notice that I'm wearing the same thing all the time. You're young and beautiful, darling. You only need the one dress.

Energy | Good | Love | Money | Qualities | Sense | Will |

Elizabeth Gilbert

I agree--the world isn't a nursery. But the very fact that this world is so challenging is exactly why you sometimes must reach out of its jurisdiction for help, appealing to a higher authority in order to find your comfort.

Cause | Control | Love | People |

Elizabeth Gilbert

My hypersensitive awareness of time's speed led me to push myself to experience life at a maximum pace. If I were going to have such a short visit on earth, I had to do everything possible to experience it now.

Heart | Love | Story | Time |

Elizabeth Gilbert

For if there is one thing I have learned over the years about men, it is that feelings of powerlessness do not usually bring forth their finest qualities.

Love |