Eat, Pray, Love: By Elizabeth Gilbert
334 Pages, Penguin Group, $13.12
“People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.” That is just one of the many meaningful quotes from Elizabeth Gilberts bestselling memoir, Eat, Pray, Love. The book can be summed up by the title alone. Each word, “eat,” “pray,” and “love,” represents three stages in the authors journey, a journey that all of us take in life. The theme of the book is that we should all strip down our lives to the basics, because after all, the simplest of things is where our happiness lies. We are all on a journey to happiness, or at least we want to be, but many of us do not know where to start. This book helps us to create a road map to internal happiness.
The author tells a story of her life where she is overworked, underappreciated and void of fulfillment. She wants to feel alive instead of just being awake in a nine to five world. First, she travels to Italy. Italy is a nation which symbolically represents the “Eat” portion of the title, thus it being first in the title and her first destination. Italians are known for their food made with passion and how generous they are with their food and hospitality. She goes there on a mission to get away from it all, but doesn’t expect to find so much comfort in a foreign land beyond its tourist attractions. She encounters people who have more of an effect on her than anyone had previously in her life. She learns here that all that matters is things that make you happy. Leisure in this nation is held to a higher regard than overworked and underpaid America. Here she appreciates how people don’t just eat, but they indulge.
Gilbert narrates eccentrically in a way that is comical and profound in unison. She describes Messina, Italy, as "a scary and suspicious Sicilian port town that seems to howl from behind barricaded doors, 'It's not my fault that I'm ugly! I've been earthquaked and carpet-bombed and raped by the Mafia, too!” You get a real sense of her inner subconscious in way that is refreshing and multidimensional. For her, it was more than a culture shock but it was like an awakening of a world that has always existed for her, yet she never thought to wake up to it. In Italy, she gradually liberates herself, a lot of the time unaware, and allows herself to indulge so much so that she no longer worries about her waistline. Her journey begins one course at a time.
The culprit behind her spontaneous desire for self discovery enveloped from a contentious divorce, a volatile rebound romance and a bout of depression. At 34, she went out on a whim to spend a year traveling in Italy, India and Indonesia. "I wanted to explore one aspect of myself set against the backdrop of each country, in a place that has traditionally done that one thing very well," she writes. "I wanted to explore the art of pleasure in Italy, the art of devotion in India and, in Indonesia, the art of balancing the two."
After the, “art of pleasure” in Italy and gaining 23 Italian pounds, it was off to India where she would enter more spiritual journey. Here in India, she finds it a quieter setting. She meditates, or at least attempts to, and spends her days in deep reflection. Her assignment given was to scrub the temple floors and it was a way to humble herself and to get closer to humility. The Hindu religion dictates here that, “discontentment is only due to the notion that our entire egos constitute our entire whole nature.” Gilbert is certainly discontent and the mediation does not initially save her from this feeling until a strong willed Texan named Richard greets her with a raw nature that initially rubs her the wrong way. He immediately notices her amateurish ways when it comes to “spirituality” and coaches her without her even asking. Gilbert is stressed over a lost love and all of the other wrongs in her life. Richard instructs her to simply let go. He helps her to see beyond everything on the outside that is wrong and look inward for peace and harmony with what she wants in life. He nicknames her “Groceries,” a name that fits her flustered personality where she can’t seem to let go of anything, constantly carrying her baggage on her shoulders where everyone can see it. She has been scaring love and serenity away from herself for her entire adult life and now it is time to let go. India is her prayer, the “pray” in the title and here she finds a greater peace.
“I got to thinking about how much time I spend in my life crashing around like a great gasping fish, either squirming away from some uncomfortable distress or flopping hungrily toward ever more pleasure,” writes Gilbert of her reflection in India.
It was hard for Gilbert to leave Richard but she had to go to her third destination, after all, the publisher was financing her voyages to the three nations. The third destination was Bali, a nation in Indonesia. Now she would learn about and surrender to “love.” This is the hardest journey to take for her, this is the last destination and the final test.
“The Balinese are global masters of balance,” she writes, “the people for whom the maintenance of perfect equilibrium is an art, a science and a religion.” In Bali, she reconnects with Ketut, a medicine man she met two years earlier, and they develop a profound relationship. Gilbert also meets a medicine woman who proves to be a very important person in her own emotional education as she tries to “hold steady in this chaotic world.” Ketut was something like a prophet where he told her two years earlier that she would return two years later. His very presence seems to bring her peace and she trusts him.
In Bali, Gilbert discovers love in all of its forms; Family, friends and romance. The book has a pleasant ending but it is surely not an ending at all for Gilbert whose journey is no doubt continuing like all of ours is. She leaves us to answer our own questions rather than providing one for us.
The novel for me was a breath of fresh air among all of the other novels labeled “self help,” “inspirational” or “spiritual” because it does all of that without the prescriptions and sermons. She is comical and off beat, she tells it like it is, sometimes awkwardly and other times poetically. It is a book that is a must read for anyone who questions where their life is going and what might fulfill them. It is a book that everyone can relate to because it ponders on issues that are universal such as God, Self Awareness and your position in all of it. I love how the book is broken apart and how it is not too overwhelming of a read. I enjoyed the characters that surrounded her and instead of distracting the reader, the compliment the main character, some may be even being an extension of the main character. The book is real, sort of a reality show only in novel form. The movement of the book ebbs and flows and soothes the reader rather than crashing over the readers head.
Other Reactions
It is hard to score the internet and actually find negative reviews of any of Gilberts work, especially, Eat, Pray, Love. About.com is littered with positive reviews from readers who were truly moved by a book that was inspirational without being preachy.
Who have we become in this digital age? Instead of getting caught up in the rapture of love we have been caught up in the rapture of the matrix. The internet is statistically now the first place people look for dating partners and friends. The internet no longer hides behind a massive computer screen, it's become who we are. It's all around us, it comes to work with us and for some of us, IT IS WORK. It is our entire social life and instead of scrap books, why not put everything on Facebook?! Facebook brings the WORST out of most people and usually it's in the form of narcissism. Facebook, among other social SELF GLORIFICATION sites, has provided people with an accepted God Complex. Yes, it's true, everyone wants to feel special, everyone wants to be heard...and with social networking and the ability to broadcast oneself GLOBALLY with instant feedback from strangers, people now feel like celebrities basking in the glory of groupies. "Yes, "LIKE" my ph
oto, look at me, I'm shirtless! Don'
t you love my muscles and how the baby oil makes the light hit the creases of my six pack? Share my photo, Retweet my genius. Read my Tweet, aren't I funny?! I may be a Secretary but man, I can really come up with a witty tweet." We want the audience, we want the praise and we want the illusion that people like us. "WOW! I'm famous! My video reached a thousand views! My life is complete!" Lets face it, we could use the ego reinforcement; back in grade school, we were staring out of the window in the school bus, way in the back, afraid to talk to the person next to us because we stuttered. (At least I did) Some of us were even afraid to go to school period. Because at 11:25, we would be bullied, called a faggot or may be a few ignorant boys would chant, "BEEP-BEEP! WIDE LOAD" behind us as we lumbered down the hall, we were a bit over weight and now we look a lot better, skinnier and of course we have 2,000 photos to prove it. Unfortunately for your kid, the modern grade school bully can continue that bullying after school, and do it anonymously online. Hence the increasing suicide rates of teenagers, especially among gays. But I won't go there, this isn't meant to be a dark, gritty post intended to conjure up tears of sympathy or even guilt, I just wonder if this new second reality called the internet is steering humanity in the right direction. I love social networking, I'm online everyday, so I am not preaching or judging, But what gets under my skin, is the arrogance of cyber space. The "LOOK AT ME" mentality of the profiles that lack personality. Stop telling "commercially attractive" people that they are the best thing since Marilyn and Joe. Commercially attractive, what's that you say? They look like the people you see on THE YOUNG THE RESTLESS, Abercrombie and Fitch posters or the people who get in free and fast at trendy Miami night clu
bs. (If you've clubbed in Miami, you know what I'm talking about) They tend to be arrogant. You wonder why they're arrogant? Well you keep "Liking" their photos, trolling their Facebook pages, leaving them DM's on Twitter. Certain people have heard ENOUGH compliments so leave them to their mirrors and exalt THINKERS. You know the thinkers, the ones with the philosophical statuses and the blogs about what the internet is doing to society. (See, I'm self glorifying, just as guilty) However, Self glorification through a bombardment of SHIRTLESS or bikini in bathroom mirror photos is rather pathetic considering Facebook isn't a modeling agency and there are no paychecks coming your way. The groupies that comment like drooling, panting dogs in heat will post similar photos the next day to compete. Self absorbed is the new promotional strategy for anyone with a web browser these days. It's only getting worse, but the thing is, we aren't self absorbed, we just want people to give us a reason to start. Because as of now, we are insecure. Oh no, it's been two hours and I haven't posted a status, someone else is going to be WITTY on Twitter, someone else will have a longer thread response on Facebook. I HAVE TO BE FACEBOOK KING! I HAVE TO BE TWITTER QUEEN! But you're never crowned, because the fact is, no one cares about you. They may LIKE a photo, comment a status, answer a Direct Message or Follow you, but they did the same thing to 5,000 other people. And tomorrow, that number will triple. We are over 30 and have regressed back to high school, desperately trying to be popular... **IRRESPONSIBLY!**Everyone has to know what color underwear we are wearing today, what supermarket overcharged us for an apple and what boyfriend is about to m
ake you change your relationship status. As the 90s/post 2000 baby generation matures in a world where all they know is computer lingo, reading books will be even less desirable. Instead of reading books, we read statuses or MEDIATAKEOUT.COM. Oprah is off the air and so is her book club. But what about friendship? Does that mean anything anymore? NO. Socially, we will be lost. Especially if we can define a friend as someone who shows their appreciation with a few mouse clicks. Is society headed for social disaster? With the public determining what news is with all the eye reporters, news feeds instead of news organizations, Kim Kardashian ass analysis rather than poverty analysis, what becomes worthy of news? If a nuclear bomb is made and everyone's on Twitter, will anyone hear it? NO. Who are you? That's the question. Are you an infinity of statuses? A collage of twit pics? Is your worth measured in LIKES? Let's face it, we are all addicted to social networking, addicted to the thrill of finally feeling popular, but look around you, there's no one there. Just you and your phone, all alone. I think it's time we get offline, smell the roses and stare into each others eyes; pupils, cornea and all! The world is so much bigger than a Craigslist personals section. If you want everyone to FOLLOW you, you better know where you are headed. There's no point in following the lost and there's no point in being a leader if you have nothing to say. There are a few souls left in the world, there's a couple of them online as well; the rest are being swallowed up by the matrix, several thousand a day, posting away, giving their identity away. Look, it makes sense, the internet is LIBERATING, we can be anyone we want to be, anonymous here, glorified there, but many of us seem to be having an identity crisis. Which personality is really you? The offline 
or the online? Which website best represents you? The Book or the Tube? Remember that thing called the Telephone? You've seen the Gaga video. Well originally, it was a device invented for people to have conversations on, they spoke in complete sentences and would talk to each other fairly often. What you have in your hand is a Cell Phone, I know you don't talk on it, why would you? When you can text, comment, LIKE, poke and tweet? How could you ever feel lonely? How could you ever feel like no one is listening when you have 2,000 friends? Oh that's right, your phone isn't ringing and neither is your door bell. It's ok, just pretend that you are popular, keep as many websites and apps as possible, because eventually, you'll be numb and it won't even feel like you are alone. With all the updates, you won't even realize there's a war outside of your window. No not the Twitter war silly, the nuclear bomb that just went off across the ocean. You missed it because Kanye was tweeting about his new watch. A few people died but they didn't matter, they weren't on Twitter and they tried to warn you about the alien spaceship above your capital building, but you didn't hear them either because they didn't say it on Twitter. No, if something isn't said on Twitter, it's not important. I know it's the digital age and many of you have the attention span of Bart Simpson so I'll get to my conclusion now. I'll end with a challenge: Use your internet wits in real life. Try to impress people in public, throw a party, invite a few Facebook friends and Followers if you dare, be as witty, charming and profound as you might be online. Instead of telling people to add you on Facebook, tell them to come to your next party, and at the next party, invite them on your group trip to the mountains, if they are still around for the mountains, you may have actually found REAL FRIENDS. Then give them your phone number and BEHOLD the beauty of a phone conversation! WARNING: The person will not interrupt you to tell you that they LIKE what you just said, continue talking. 
know what Trump said about Obama. Didn't bother me to see her go, Latoya wasn't going to go far anyway....but Star.. Her arguments were captivating: "YOU DON'T HAVE THE CREDENTIALS TO ARGUE WITH ME!" Shouted Counselor Jones to smelly, emotional rock star Meatloaf. After crying about Painted Turtle kids for two hours, the stale loaf of meat conjured up his grouchy old man alter ego & yelled at Star outside of the boardroom. I have to admit, Star was in charge of branding for the 
he Bad Girls Club. As Oprah Winfrey exits stage right, the television becomes almost completely absent of Black women of class. Wendy Williams gossips about celebrities while resembling a drag queen blow up doll, a funny lady with a degree or two, but silicon and weave don't exactly help the image. Star Jones would be a great person for young girls to emulate had it not been for the SLAVE MASTERS MOUTHPIECE Nene Leakes who tears down the intelligence and accomplishments of a professional Black woman any chance she can get. It's almost like she was strategically placed there in a show of stereotype and belittlement of the Michelle Obama's of the world & those striving to become it. Yes, Nene Leakes, an ex stripper with limited education arrives on the silver screen to curse out other black women in The Real Housewives of Atlanta, only to do further damage by lightening her skin with make up and getting a nose job to look more European. She behaves this way on a national stage in front of the eyes of her adolescent son who no doubt has to go to school every day to taunts and judgments. Often unprovoked, racially ashamed glorified hoodrat, stereotype extraordinaire, Nene acted on cue in the reality show's shes starred in, making the invisible puppet masters proud. 
has an outstanding resume, though it was ruined by her participation on a show that dumbs her down and associates her with the gold digging sisterhood of haters such as Nene Leakes and Sherre Whitfield. Yes we have Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, white stupid and famous for being famous, and the overarching concern I have is that there is an unrealistic and irresponsibly damaging focus on the superficial, random, controversial and entertaining celebrity. What the rose colored glasses don't let you see is that, 
