Eat Pray Love



I just finished watching Eat Pray Love for the second time.  I've been feeling out of touch with myself again-- with what brings me happiness or pleasure. I remembered that this movie is all about indulging in pleasure and figuring out who you are when lost.  I think the fact that this is a true story of Elizabeth Gilbert's life for a year makes it all the more interesting and inspiring. 

Early on in the movie, Gilbert is trying to describe how she feels to a friend, talking about how she wishes she had a hunger for something in life, like food.  Where she craved something, enjoyed it.  At that moment she felt nothing and needed to get back to feeling again.

I identify with this so much. 

When in Italy, Gilbert is talking with her new Italian friends and they are telling her that American's don't know how to have pleasure in their lives.  We have "Miller-time" and are brought up to believe we have to earn pleasure.  We work hard all week to earn sitting around in our pjs on the weekend watching tv.  I loved this explanation because it is so accurate and I believe we do have it so wrong.

So after my second viewing here are my thoughts --

• I need to be making and eating more pasta (and not the canned stuff either)
• Travel is really important to me, more important than having expensive things
• Meditation helps - I need to make sure I do it more often
• Gilbert went to a Hindu temple but I think a Buddhist temple would be better for me
• You can never have enough linen in your wardrobe
• Love doesn't have to be perfect to the outside world, just perfect to me
• Doing things to help others helps me to feel better
• Forgive myself - even if others can't. I have to live to with myself.
• Do what makes me happy.  Don't do it because I should or it will make others be impressed with me or wait for validation from others to feel good about it.
• A less conventional life is ok, cookie cutter living isn't for everyone
• I need to write more