Liz Gilbert on Love and Purpose

As many of you know, I am a big Elizabeth Gilbert fan. I recently fell in love with her even more when I read her very inspiring and heartwarming Facebook post about her view on what our “purpose” in life really is.

If you love and want MORE Liz, follow her on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/GilbertLiz/

Dear Ones:

Can I ask you a question?

Do you believe that you’re supposed to have a purpose in life?

I’m guessing that you do believe this. Most people believe this.

I’m also guessing that this belief brings you a huge amount of anxiety.

Because, it’s a really fucking stressful belief, if you think about it for even one minute.

Here is something you will hear “inspirational” people say a lot:

“You were born for a reason. You have a special destiny. Your job as a human being is to find out what your special destiny is, and then to use your special destiny to help change the world.”

Does that statement make you anxious? Because it makes me anxious as hell.

Because how will I KNOW what my reason for living is? How will YOU know? What if I FAIL at my special destiny? What if YOU fail? What if you CAN’T FIGURE IT OUT? What if you WASTE YOUR WHOLE LIFE? What if you go in the WRONG DIRECTION? What if you LEAVE NO IMPACT? What if you live and die a full lifespan on this earth, and you NEVER DID ANYTHING IMPORTANT? What if you thought that your reason for living was ONE THING, and then you found out you were TOTALLY MISTAKEN? What if you turn out to be INSIGNIFICANT?

WHAT IF YOU MAKE NO OFFERING TO THE WORLD???!!!

Here’s what I think — and after what I’ve been through in the last year and a half, I think it now than ever.

You do have a purpose. But it’s probably not what you think. Your only purpose here is to be Loved.

That’s it. And I spell “Loved” with a capital L, because I’m talking about being Loved by creation itself. I’m talking about knowing that you are Loved by divinity, that you are Loved by the universe itself, you are made out of Love, and that you will return into Love…and that this Love does not give one single solitary shit what you do or don’t do with your life; It just LOVES you.

There is no part of yourself so dark or so flawed that Love cannot find it and surround it and Love it.

You know that part of you who is ambitious and thirsty and miserable? Love has already found that part of you, and it Loves you, anyway.

You know that part of you who is angry and bitter and depressed? Love has already found that part of you, and it Loves you anyway.

You know that part of you who is jealous and mean and lazy and stupid and hurtful and suspicious and addicted and a liar and a loser? Love has already found that part of you, and it Loves you, anyway.

LOVE DOESN’T GIVE A SHIT WHO YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU DO; IT JUST LOVES YOU.

There is nothing you could ever become — or not become — that Love cannot love.
And if you’re wondering what your offering to this world is supposed to be, then you’ve got it all wrong: You are not here to be a freaking offering. That would make you an object of sacrifice, and that’s not what you’re supposed to be. This world is not a sacrificial altar; it is a GIFT. You are not an offering to this world: THIS WORLD IS AN OFFERING TO YOU.
Every single thing here is a gift to you because you are Loved.

You don’t have to pay rent in this world — in the form of labor or desperation or sacrifice or striving — in order to be Loved. You do not owe ANYTHING to the world, in order to be Loved. You are not required to leave an impact here, in order to be Loved. You do not have to hustle to be Loved. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE A JOB HERE TO BE LOVED. You are a gift. Even if you’re just sitting on your couch, year after year, eating nachos and farting, you are a fucking gift. You are LOVED. LOVE LOVES YOU SO MUCH.

Love loves you — pure and simple. No matter what they did to you, and no matter what you did to them, you are Loved. PERIOD.

Do you hear me?

I know that this is a radical thing to believe — and it goes against every message you have ever been taught. To dare to believe that you are created by Love, for Love, and to be Loved (and that this is ENOUGH) is the most outrageous stance you could ever take in your life.

You don’t need to change the world. It’s too big a job, and “changing the world” assumes that you know what the master plan for the world is supposed to be, anyhow, and you don’t. You never will.

You will never know your purpose. The other day I was walking down the street and I saw a man on a ladder, cleaning a window, and his ladder looked a little wobbly, so I steadied the ladder for him. For all I know, that moment could’ve been what I was born for. Who can say?

This doesn’t mean you have to be complacent. If you want to do work in the world, do it. If you want to be an activist, be one. If you want to help people, help them. But you don’t OWE it. You owe nothing to this world in return for the mystery of having been born. You are not a debtor here. You are a GIFT here. And this world — in return — is an offering of Love to YOU.

Do you have a pet? Look at your pet right now. What is your pet doing? What is your dog or cat or fish or bird doing, right this moment?

Is it worrying about its DESTINY? Is it concerned that it isn’t CHANGING THE WORLD? Is it trying to figure out what its OFFERING TO HUMANITY is? And if your dog or cat doesn’t change the world, has it FAILED at life? If your dog or cat doesn’t make an impact on the lives of other dogs and cats, is it unworthy of Love?

Of course not.

Your dog or cat doesn’t need to do anything but just sit there in order to be worthy of Love. It’s just a creature made out of Love — an experiment of Creation — and that’s all it has to be.

Not unlike your pet, you are also an experiment of creation — a spasm of God-ness, a curious compilation of matter and awareness, an energy made out of a mystery. And that’s all you ever have to be, to be perfect and to be LOVED.

It is HILARIOUS to me that you still think there is anything wrong with you.

It’s ABSURD that I still sometimes think there is something wrong with me.

It’s just total nonsense. It is to laugh.

All you have to do to be here — to make this world become an offering to YOU — is to start knowing that you are Loved.

When you realize this truth, that will be world-changing enough.

Believe me. Try it on, and you’ll see.

You don’t even have to believe it, for it to be true. Love can even Love the part of you who doesn’t believe in Love. But for the record, it IS true. You are so goddamn Loved, it’s freaking insane.

I just wanted to tell you that today.

And I love you all so, so, so, so, so, so, so much.

Liz

I hope this missive on LOVE lights you up, expands your heart, puts sparkle in your soul and maybe even blows your mind.

Wishing you love, laughter, and magical kisses,

Arielle