Elizabeth Gilbert
American author whose 2006 memoir Eat Pray Love — a year-long journey through Italy, India, and Indonesia in search of pleasure, devotion, and balance — became one of the most-read and most-quoted spiritual memoirs of the twenty-first century, selling over twelve million copies in thirty languages and shaping a generation's understanding of contemplative travel, ashram life, and the contemporary spiritual journey. Born in 1969 in Waterbury, Connecticut, she has continued in Big Magic (2015) and other works to explore creativity as a spiritual practice and the relationship between fear, courage, and the creative life. She lives in New Jersey and remains one of the most distinctive voices on faith, devotion, and creative-life as spiritual practice in contemporary writing.
quotes in library
Quotes by Elizabeth Gilbert
101 quotes“To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced life.”
“Don't think about your problem all the time, every day. Just take it to God and leave it there.”
“Embrace the glorious mess that you are.”
“You are afraid of surrender because you don't want to lose control. But you never had control. All you had was anxiety.”
“In the end, what is a person but the stories of one's own life?”
“People universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck. But happiness is the consequence of personal effort.”
“You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it.”
“Be the heroine of your own life, not the victim.”
“Pleasure is not exclusive to the rich and the lucky.”
“Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they're yours.”
“The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.”
“Done is better than good.”
“You must learn how to live alone before you can live with anyone else.”
“To meditate, only you must smile.”
“Smile with face, smile with mind, and good energy will come to you.”
“Every great question is born from a great loneliness.”
“This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something.”
“You are simply too proud to forgive yourself.”
“Make something — anything — every day.”
Explore More Teachers
Discover wisdom from 500+ spiritual teachers across all traditions.
Browse All Teachers