The trick at every turn was to endure the test of living for as long as possible. The odds of survival were punishingly slim, for the world was naught by a school of calamity and an endless burning furnace of tribulation. But those who survived the world shaped it--even as the world, simultaneously, shaped them.
Elizabeth GilbertYou have to work ceaselessly on your end to digest and imbibe your opportunities or, I have come to believe, they will gradually slip away and knock on someone else's more receptive door.
Elizabeth GilbertHappiness is the consequence of personal effort. You must fight for it, strive for it, and insist upon it.
Elizabeth GilbertIn 1954, Pope Pius XI, of all people, sent some Vatican delegates on a trip to Libya with these written instructions: "Do NOT think that you are going among Infidels. Muslims attain salvation, too. The ways of Providence are infinite.
Elizabeth GilbertYou can butcher the sheep only once. But if you are careful, you can shear the sheep every year.
Elizabeth Gilbert