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

People think a soul mate is the one that fits them perfectly, and we all want. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that hinders and the person that your attention is directed to you, that could change your life. Probably the most important person you'll ever meet, but live forever with soulmate? No. Too painful. Soulmate in your life comes to you revealing a layer you, and then leave. And thank God for that.

Change | Important | Soul | Tears | Think |

Elizabeth Gilbert

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.

Control | Ego | Heart | Light | Little | Purpose | Purpose | Soul |

Elizabeth Gilbert

A woman's place is in the kitchen...sitting in a comfortable chair, with her feet up, drinking a glass of wine and watching her husband cook dinner.

Important | Life | Life | Soul |

Elizabeth Gilbert

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 leave.

Attention | Change | Important | Soul |

Elizabeth Gilbert

I knew then that this is how God loves us all and receives us all, and that there is no such thing in this universe as hell, except maybe in our own terrified minds. Because if even one broken and limited human being could experience even one such episode of absolute forgiveness and acceptance of her own self, then imagine—just imagine!—what God, in all His eternal compassion, can forgive and accept.

Distress | Effort | Enough | Good | People | Soul | Will | World | Crisis | Happiness | Think |

Elizabeth Gilbert

People universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. 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. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't, you will leak away your inner contentment. It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments.

Attention | Change | God | Important | Life | Life | Soul | God | Think |

William Shakespeare

Still it cried ‘Sleep no more!’ to all the house: ‘Glamis hath murder’d sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more,—Macbeth shall sleep no more!

Peace | Right | Silence |

Elizabeth Gilbert

I'd learned enough from life's experiences to understand that destiny's interventions can sometimes be read as invitation for us to address and even surmount our biggest fears. It doesn't take a great genius to recognize that when you are pushed by circumstance to do the one thing you have always most specifically loathed and feared, this can be, at the very least, an interesting growth opportunity.

Attention | Change | Control | Death | Ego | God | Heart | Important | Life | Life | Light | Little | Love | Marriage | Mind | People | Purpose | Purpose | Reason | Relationship | Right | Soul | Space | Time | Universe | Will | God | Afraid | Think | Understand |

Elizabeth Gilbert

Has become my thoughts more like neighbors veterans, annoying, but they have become dear, there is room for all of us in this neighborhood.

Distress | Effort | Enough | Good | Soul | Will | World | Crisis | Happiness |

William Shakespeare

Sweet recreation barred, what doth ensue but moody and dull melancholy, kinsman to grim and comfortless despair; and at their heels, a huge infectious troop of pale distemperatures and foes to life.

Conduct | Good | Peace | Soul | Old |

Elizabeth Gilbert

The search for contentment is, therefore, not merely a self-preserving and self-benefiting act, but also a generous gift to the world. Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else. Only then are you free to serve and enjoy other people.

Day | Mind | Need | Noise | Peace | Silence | Wants | Will |

Elizabeth Browning, fully Elizabeth Barrett Browning

And tulips, children love to stretch their fingers down, to feel in each its beauty's sweet nearer.

Little | Rest | Soul |

Elizabeth Gilbert

So miss him. Send him some love and light every time you think about him, then drop it.

God | Joy | Mortal | Soul | Strength | God |

Elizabeth Gilbert

The other day in prayer I said to God, Look - I understand that an unexamined life is not worth living, but do you think I could someday have an unexamined lunch?.

Day | Mind | Need | Noise | Peace | Silence | Wants | Will |

Elizabeth Gilbert

We are not alien visitors to this planet, after all but natural residents and relatives of every living entity here. This earth is where we came from and where we'll all end up when we die, and during the interim, it is our home, And there's no way we can ever hope to understand ourselves if we don't at least marginally understand our home.

Ego | Fortune | Life | Life | Mind | Perfection | Right | Silence |

Elizabeth Gilbert

Zen masters say you cannot see your reflection in running water, only in still water.

Ego | Mind | Perfection | Silence |

Elizabeth Lesser

Spirituality is a brave search for the truth about existence, fearlessly peering into the mysterious nature of life.

Beginning | Happy | Life | Life | Meaning | Soul | Wisdom | Forgive |

Elizabeth Gilbert

Richard didn't even have time to ask if I thought I'd ever amount to anything in this life before I looked him eye to eye and said, I already have, mister.

Apathy | Attention | Care | Day | Health | Mindfulness | Soul |

Elizabeth Gilbert

The gods are fond of the cryptic and dislike the evident.

Happy | Love | Order | Safe | Strength |