1 post tagged “elizabeth gilbert”
So. I finally gave up on The Dark Mirror, (with a small mental notation to pick it up again later when I was in more of a fantasy mood) when I talked myself into picking up Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love, which is probably one of the best books I've read in quite some time.
It's nonfiction, and the author chronicles her journey through three nations as she recovers from divorce and an unsatisfying life.
The book really struck a lot of familiar chords with me, not because I'm unsatisfied with where I am, exactly, but just because I could understand where she was coming from. I admire the fact that as she chronicles her spiritual development, there's an acknowledgment that there is more than one path to God, and that "Thou art God" (Stranger in a Strange Land) isn't all so far from the truth, in the end. I remember identifying with that statement when I read it in Heinlein, and this only reinforced my feelings, that the divine is everywhere and you don't necessarily have to be on the Bible-thumping, revival-tent-inhabiting path to be doing it "right." Try to tell my family that. Ha.
Anyway. I've always been kind of afraid of stepping out there, as Liz does, and I really admired that, as well. She simply goes out into the world and does exactly what she wants to do. Perhaps that's a bit self-indulgent; in fact it quite likely is. But I think it's a chance that most of us would take if we had the opportunity. If someone said: pick three countries and spend a year visiting each of them equally, and here's the financial backing to do it--wouldn't you?
Of course, upon proposing that to myself, I have to wonder where I would go. I have a history at being incredibly terrible at languages, but then again they say that immersion is the best way to fix that problem. Liz picked Italy because she wanted to learn the language. For similar reasons, I would choose Japan. Perhaps I could even turn those three years of college Japanese into something resembling fluency! Also, silly as it might seem, I'd like to see what the effect of Japanese food would be on my body. I could certainly stand to lose a few and would probably feel quite awkward among all the smaller folk. Combine that with my picky tastes and I might actually be getting somewhere in that department.
My second "country" would be somewhere in Europe, because I know a couple of folks in the region who I would dearly love to visit. Ideally, I would divide my time between several countries, including Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, and Germany, so...yeah. Those four months would be hectic, but awesome. And more than likely I'd probably put back on all the potential weight lost in Japan, given the insane amounts of stuff I would want to try. Oh, well.
Finally, I think I'd mosey on up to the UK and spend a blissful four months in Scotland and Wales, with the occasional side trip to England (theater!) and Ireland (why not?). There I would visit all the lovely historical sites and absorb the accents. I could probably just sit around and listen to people talk for the whole time and go home completely happy.
So, yeah. Not exactly the great spiritual journey that Liz took, but I think I'd go home feeling satisfied, at least, that I got to go and live in the world, if only for a year.
Where would you go?
It's nonfiction, and the author chronicles her journey through three nations as she recovers from divorce and an unsatisfying life.
The book really struck a lot of familiar chords with me, not because I'm unsatisfied with where I am, exactly, but just because I could understand where she was coming from. I admire the fact that as she chronicles her spiritual development, there's an acknowledgment that there is more than one path to God, and that "Thou art God" (Stranger in a Strange Land) isn't all so far from the truth, in the end. I remember identifying with that statement when I read it in Heinlein, and this only reinforced my feelings, that the divine is everywhere and you don't necessarily have to be on the Bible-thumping, revival-tent-inhabiting path to be doing it "right." Try to tell my family that. Ha.
Anyway. I've always been kind of afraid of stepping out there, as Liz does, and I really admired that, as well. She simply goes out into the world and does exactly what she wants to do. Perhaps that's a bit self-indulgent; in fact it quite likely is. But I think it's a chance that most of us would take if we had the opportunity. If someone said: pick three countries and spend a year visiting each of them equally, and here's the financial backing to do it--wouldn't you?
Of course, upon proposing that to myself, I have to wonder where I would go. I have a history at being incredibly terrible at languages, but then again they say that immersion is the best way to fix that problem. Liz picked Italy because she wanted to learn the language. For similar reasons, I would choose Japan. Perhaps I could even turn those three years of college Japanese into something resembling fluency! Also, silly as it might seem, I'd like to see what the effect of Japanese food would be on my body. I could certainly stand to lose a few and would probably feel quite awkward among all the smaller folk. Combine that with my picky tastes and I might actually be getting somewhere in that department.
My second "country" would be somewhere in Europe, because I know a couple of folks in the region who I would dearly love to visit. Ideally, I would divide my time between several countries, including Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, and Germany, so...yeah. Those four months would be hectic, but awesome. And more than likely I'd probably put back on all the potential weight lost in Japan, given the insane amounts of stuff I would want to try. Oh, well.
Finally, I think I'd mosey on up to the UK and spend a blissful four months in Scotland and Wales, with the occasional side trip to England (theater!) and Ireland (why not?). There I would visit all the lovely historical sites and absorb the accents. I could probably just sit around and listen to people talk for the whole time and go home completely happy.
So, yeah. Not exactly the great spiritual journey that Liz took, but I think I'd go home feeling satisfied, at least, that I got to go and live in the world, if only for a year.
Where would you go?
