Eat, Pray, Love

I think it’s safe to say that most of us have all had a certain point in our lives where we feel like our world is crashing down. Maybe it was from stress, or maybe a love lost, but we have an idea of what rock-bottom feels like. When we get that feeling of emptiness, it’s hard to know what to do.

During my junior year, I studied abroad in Florence, Italy with some of my best friends. (Side note: if you can study abroad, DO IT. It was literally the best 4 months of my life). Anyway, after the initial excitement and awe wore off, my roommates and I found ourselves in a funk, or depression, if you will. We were missing Marist, family and friends, America, and the feeling of being familiar with our surroundings. During my time here, I met a girl who I became very close with. She recommended I read a book called “Eat, Pray, Love,” by Elizabeth Gilbert, and said the book was amazing and life-changing. I love to read, but I doubted the book would have a profound effect on me.

I was wrong. The book is everything my friend said and more. I found that I wasn’t able to put the book down because I was so involved in Elizabeth’s story and found myself relating to her. One of the main concepts of the book is loneliness. Gilbert encourages herself (and others) to embrace loneliness so that you may be comfortable with yourself. It is never a good thing to rely on someone else for happiness (kind of like the quote…you have to learn to love yourself before you can love anyone else).

Coming out of a messy divorce and feeling extremely depressed, Gilbert decides to travel to three different countries (Italy, India, and Indonesia) to learn their ways and experience their cultures to the fullest. In Italy, Gilbert  indulges  in food, culture, and music while facing her loneliness head-on. Her next stop is India, where she practices silent meditation at her Guru’s Ashram. At first, Gilbert finds it extremely difficult to stay focused enough to meditate “correctly.” She works on controlling her thoughts so they aren’t as overwhelming while meditating and discovers a peace within. Finally, she travels to Bali, Indonesia. Gilbert spends her time with Ketut, a ninth generation Indian medicine man. Ketut teaches her to find balance and in return, she teaches him English. Throughout her journey, she meets other interesting people who affect her in one way or another.

The book was great and I would definitely recommend reading it. You will find yourself laughing and crying and relating to the author in ways that you can’t fathom until you actually read it. The importance of staying balanced and peaceful while loving yourself is perhaps the most important message of the book. It gives the audience hope so that when you feel you can’t go on, you know that someone else has been through the same thing. She teaches you how to conquer your fears and loneliness while loving yourself. This may sound corny, but I really did find “Eat, Pray, Love” life-changing.

“Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience.”

 — Elizabeth Gilbert