from long ago travels and...one amazing book!)
Can I just say that when a friend of mine recommended this book to me years ago...I simply devoured it? Besides the writing being so honest + witty + delicious + funny +...in so many ways...this is my story!!! I spent so much of my twenties with wings on my feet; I had serious wanderlust! Never mind that if an Indian woman isn't married and bearing children by the time she's oh! 20 (!!!), shes' over the hill. I had other ideas. People thought I was being self indulgent, selfish or just... weird. I was completely okay with that:) In between trying to run away from mySELF + finding mySELF + mending my soul +...I lived in an ashram, went on a pilgrimage to India, spent a summer in New Orleans and took all sorts of wrong turns and detours that turned out to be...exactly where I was supposed to be! I am so glad I never married early because I am 100% certain that I would of ended up plain old miserable.
Anyways...Tim rented the movie Eat, Pray, Love for me this weekend. I had so wanted to see it last summer but ...just couldn't fit it in with Tara. Usually movies disappoint me after the book-but I must say that I loved it! The only complaint I have about the movie is this. How could Julia Roberts eat all that pasta and pizza and ...those pastries... and still be so skinny??? I gained 10 lbs just reading the book! I'm not kidding either!
Anyways. There is a line at the end of the movie that really resonated with me. It's when the old, 9th generation Balinese medicine man Ketut says to Liz "Sometimes in life, we must be unbalanced in love to be balanced in life". I think that's the same with all aspects of our lives. I wrote a post where I was struggling/striving for balance just a short while ago but now I see that, in life, things are often unbalanced and...that's okay. Its the inner intention and clarity that matters. A person can appear to be outwardly balanced but...absolutely miserable because they are not living from their core, from their heart. And the opposite can be true as well. It doesn't matter what others think of the lives we are living; that's for us to decide. That Ketut...he's a wise old man:)
6 comments:
Ahhh! This is the absolute worst time for me to be reading, but I'm doing it anyway (just with big breaks in between unfortunately). I've only just started India, but I am loving every word. There is so much that resonates with me too! When I'm done...I think I'll watch the movie. :)
i love that book, too, and felt like it validated so much of my own life and desires. i have read many sections of it over and over!
I loved the book,"Eat Pray Love" SO much, and the movie was amazing: it makes me happy that you felt the same way...and your rebel spirit, which I also possess...no wonder we are friends! xx jane
Ohhh...I loved that book, but I have yet to see the movie. I will have to put in on my summer movie list. I love that you said some things in life will be unbalanced - and that is OK. That is so true!! I think our attitude & how we handle things in this unbalanced life of ours is SO important. :)
How funny ... I was just talking to the secretary here and she pulled out Eat, Pray, Love! I recently re-read it and loved it even more the second time around. The movie was fun, but there is so much in the second portion that could not be covered in the film ... and besides thinking about how Julie didn't gain much weight, I was also thinking about how she had such great clothes even though it seemed like she had only one suitcase (my struggle always when I travel is what to bring!)
I think it is so essential to take that time to meet oneself before having a family ... it makes it easier to step out of my way and allow (or try to ) allow my daughter to be herself and a the repaired version of me.
xo Lis
I loved not only the book and the movie, but listening to Elizabeth Gilbert speak. A very wise and down-to-earth woman. Oh - and the wonderlust?? Have totally been there too. And you're right - all that stuff and those travels add up to make us who we are today....
XOX
Post a Comment