Instead of writing how good a read this is, let me tell you my journey towards finding this book and how the story of Elizabeth Gilbert made an impact in my life.
How I found this book. I found this at a time when I felt a little tired of reading fiction books. It was also at that time when I thought, "Since I can't travel to all the places I want to go to, I will just read about it in books!" I had a phase when I kept buying Lonely Planet guidebooks in order "to travel" but I got tired of it the way I got tired of reading fiction. So I browsed thru some more at Borders and found autobiographies in their Travel section. I was in book haven when I saw tons of travel autobiographies--the answer to what I was looking for. The book "Eat Pray Love" caught my eye because it was about pleasures, spirituality and love. At the time I was craving to read about people's travels, I also craved for some womanly wisdom on life as I was at a period of transitions (I just got married) and so I bought it because the book is not only about travel in the literal sense of the word but most importantly it was about a woman's travel to finding her life and being happy again.
How it changed me. Before I read this book: I'm aware of things that give me pleasure, I know how to have fun; I have a strong faith--still growing in terms of my faith but nevertheless, my spirituality is intact; I'm able to manage problems, frustrations and difficulties; I have a stable support of friends and family; I'm content with my career; I'm inlove and have just gotten married to the love of my life; and most of all, given that I enjoy a busy life and I'm always surrounded by people I love, I welcome moments of solitude when I can just sit still and reflect. However, I felt there was a missing link to my everyday living. I'm inspired and blessed but I needed to make all the elements in my life work to the best of me. When I read this book, I found the answer: BALANCE.
Let me share the perfect quote from the book about Balance:
"To find the balance you want, this is what you must become. You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have 4 legs instead of 2. That way, you can stay in the world. But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look through your heart, instead. That way, you will know God."
That's why every time I'm faced with challenges or I'm having difficulty on the many tasks I juggle, I stop, breathe, clear my head and find the answer/s thru my heart instead. Nowadays, that's how I figure out what's REALLY IMPORTANT in that very moment I'm in. With balance, I'm able to find my centre easily when I'm getting out of focus, and able to maintain my equilibrium in my day-to-day living.
I'm very very very excited to see the movie. As in! I can't wait for it to be shown and see the book come to life. It will be shown on 14 October 2010 here in Australia. For your respective country's release dates, please check it out here.
If you have read "Eat Pray Love" and want to know what happened in the lives of Elizabeth Gilbert and Felipe (the man she met in Bali), read about their journey to embracing marriage (again) in "Committed".
