Sunday, April 1, 2007

"Thoughts of Joy..." ~ Eat, Pray, Love (Gilbert)




"Thoughts of Joy..." can be found here.




This is the recollection of Elizabeth Gilbert's healing, spiritual journey. She traveled to Italy, India, and Indonesia in search of self and the meaning of life, ultimately seeking peace and tranquility. I admire her independence and determination to pursue this right and privilege as a human being.

While there are numerous bits of wisdom or sheer observations that can be taken from this book, here are just two nuggets that happened to stick with me:

"This is what rituals (ceremonies or celebrations) are for...to create a safe resting place for our most complicated feelings of joy or trauma so we don't have to haul these feelings around with us forever weighing us down."

"Make peace with what you were given."

Both of these quotes are not necessarily profound, yet in their own way have made an impact on me. I do think they are a good representation that being in a reflective mood when reading this book will contribute to it being a pleasant and thought-provoking experience.

A few times throughout the book, I wanted her to stop being so self-absorbed, but when that happened I would say to myself, "Hey, it's HER memoir. I think that's allowed." :)

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