Eat, Pray, Love

I am posting close the the deadline, albeit one day late :) We are in Seattle with our oldest son and his 4 little boys, the newest having arrived 10 days ago. While Cannon is at school, Henry is napping, Luke is playing with blocks upstairs and baby Matthew is with his mother, I am going to post my review.

I am posting before I read anyone else's because I wanted to review rather than just respond. Then I am looking forward to participating in the discussion because I think we will have a lot of different opinions. I do have to raise one general objection to Gilbert's view of the world. I found it interesting that she could be so tolerant of the non-traditional religious beliefs of others, loving mystics and all varieties of Eastern philosophies from Hinduism to Buddhism and associating with Christians-who-don't-speak-very-strictly (see pages 13 & 14), but, she draws the line at accepting (ick) Republicans! (see pages 48 & 88)

I found her to be typically broad minded and accepting of people who consider themselves "broad minded" and "free thinking" but as narrow-minded and bigoted about people who might have issues with her morals or disagree with her assessment of world issues as any of the conservatives she dislikes. (Good grief . . . she loved every word out of the foul-mouthed Italian at the soccer game!?! It was an "exquisite" and "lucky" moment to be sitting in front of him--page 69?! She seemed so much like the artsy, pompous, full-of-themselves intellectuals I have encountered in life!) She offers regrets for any hurt feelings "strictly religious individuals" might have to her writing and then summarily dismisses them as she excuses herself from their business (page 14). Using the label of "a liberal" is really too simplistic to summarize any complex human being (including Elizabeth Gilbert), but in the interest of time, "if the shoe fits"!

This having been said, I thought this book was full of valuable insights and enlightening views that all of us could benefit from examining. In other words, my plan is to sift through what I read then keep the wheat and blow the chaff away (including the parts where love turned into ????) Enough of criticism. Here's the wheat:

1) I loved her quest to learn who she really is. I loved watching her "transformation." I loved considering our need for food for the body, food for the spirit, and love in our lives. I loved her search for the quiet mind and for "balance" in life. I loved her acknowledgement that she should be the best in "Elizabeth Gilbert," rather than trying to be someone else. (page 192--"If God wanted me to be a shy girl with thick, dark hair, He would have made me that way, but He didn't."

2) I really enjoyed the section on prayer and meditation. It was rich with lessons on our relationship with God. I found much that was really "true." The idea of surrender to God, letting go of the junk, praying with focus, choosing not to harbor unhealthy thoughts . . . there was sooooo much in this section that has already been of value to me!

One final note, the ideas in Eat, Pray, Love are receiving consideration on many levels and in many venues throughout the world. Some call it humanistic, some call is faux or new age religion. On my flight here, I was seated next to a lady who was reading "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle. We kept stopping in our readings to share insights with each other and they were amazingly similar. My seat-mate shared the "100 monkeys" theory with me. She said that researchers of primate behavior have found that if a new behavior is exhibited by a group of monkeys, that when the critical mass of 100 monkeys exhibit this same behavior, distant communities of monkeys with no contact with the original group will start exhibiting the same behavior. The theory is that life is all connected and that if enough people will start thinking about themselves and their world differently, we can truly create "a new world." (Sounds like life in the Millenium to me--they just leave out the 2nd coming!)

Anyway, I am glad I had the opportunity to read this book. I have already found changes that are occuring in my view of life and its experiences that have resulted from reading this book. Thanks!

--Karen Smith