Eat. Pray. Love......my non-review

I’m not much of a reader (feel free to read that as ‘I don’t read at all’). The best I can do is a soccer magazine, and sometimes I don’t finish reading that either. As I write this, I have two magazines, both half read, which have been sitting opened on my bedside table for the past few weeks. I think we have ascertained that I don’t read – at all!

About a week ago I watched the movie adaptation of Eat. Pray. Love – a memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert. That is normally what I do – wait until they turn the book into a movie, and that’s the closest I get to reading. I don’t write reviews....of anything....ever! It might be because I don’t read reviews – I like to form my own view on a subject, and reading someone else’s opinion may alter and bias me even before I get the opportunity to judge for myself. So let’s get this straight – this is NOT a review.

Eat. Pray. Love – this is a story of a woman who, after her divorce and during her subsequent relationship realises that she is dead to herself – she has no feeling for anything and is just living and letting life happen. She feels like she is in a routine of life, and is more of a passenger in her own life than the driver. She decides to leave New York and all she knows and loves to travel to three different destinations over a period on a year, and in all three she goes through a journey of self-discovery, and ‘finding her balance’.

Italy – a beautiful land with people who understand and fully enjoy life’s pleasures. This is where the ‘eat’ part of the title comes in. In the middle of any random afternoon, the Italians can open a bottle of good wine and enjoy a good meal in the company of good friends. I’m not referring to just filling the stomach and over-indulging in alcohol to get drunk, but actually eating to savour the tastes, take in the aroma and fullness of the food and the wine, and having conversations that allow you to laugh whole-heartedly without a care – using all the senses in order to fully enjoy and take pleasure in the moment.

India – spirituality, meditation and finding inner-peace. A journey of self-forgiveness and self-acceptance, and being able to spend ‘quiet time’ to reflect fully on life.  It’s about being able to find that source of peace and wholeness, and dwelling in that. It is also about opening communication with God, and being fully surrounded by His presence. This is the ‘pray’ part.

Indonesia – Love! After Italy, where it’s all about living and enjoying the fullness of life, follows India which is a place of inner-peace, and then comes Indonesia. In the movie, this is where she meets her true love. After a journey of life and truly understanding herself, only then is she able to open her heart up for and to love, and is able to fully and truly be with someone else. Only after her journey of being happy with herself is she able to be happy with another person.

I don’t read much, but I am tempted to get this book – I can relate so much to what she goes through before her journey. I need to go to Italy, India, and Indonesia. Fortunately, I can do this without leaving the comfort of my own home. I want to embark in a personal journey to get in tune with myself and others as I Eat. Pray. Love.

Here are some of my favourite quotes from the movie:

Luca Spaghetti: Americans. You work too hard, you get burned out. You come home and spend the whole weekend in your pyjamas in front of the T.V.
Liz: That's not far off, actually.
Luca Spaghetti: But you don't know pleasure. You have to be told you've earned it. You see a commercial that says: 'It's Miller Time!' And you say, that’s right, now I'm going to buy a six pack. And then drink the whole thing and wake up the next morning and you feel terrible. But an Italian doesn’t need to be told. He walks by a sign that says: You deserve a break today. And he says, Yes, I know. That’s why I'm planning on taking a break at noon to go over to your house and sleep...with your wife!

Luca Spaghetti: Americans know entertainment, but they don't know pleasure.

Giovanni: We call it "dolce far niente", the sweetness of doing nothing!

Richard: You're going to have to learn to select your thoughts the same way you select your clothes every day. Now that's a power that you can cultivate. You want to come here and you want to control your life so bad work on the mind, and I don't think you should be trying to control a thing because if you can't master your thoughts you are in trouble forever.

Liz Gilbert: I'm sick of people telling me that I need a man.
Felipe: You don't need a man, Liz. You need a champion.

Ketut Liyer: Sometimes to lose balance for love is part of living a balanced life

Felipe: Balance is not letting anyone love you less than you love yourself.

Liz Gilbert: Maybe my life hasn't been so chaotic. It's just the world that is and the only real trap is getting attached to any of it. Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation.

Liz Gilbert: I did love you, Stephen.
Stephen: I know. But I still love you.
Liz Gilbert: So, love me.
Stephen: But I miss you.
Liz Gilbert: So, miss me. Send me love and light every time you think of me... Then drop it. It won't last forever. Nothing does.