My thoughts on Eat Pray Love and Elizabeth Gilbert

So, I finished reading Eat Pray Love, and watched the film too.

I enjoyed both.  And yet I can't relate to Elizabeth Gilbert.

I did love the food.  Because, well, I LOVE food, I am Latina, I LOVE food! Good food.

I do want travel. The book and movie made me want to travel.  For me, wanting to travel with littles and hubby.  Kip is Italian, so Italy definitely makes our list.

I do like yoga.  Yoga does wonders for your body and mind.  Every time I practice yoga or breathing I feel new.  My body feels relaxed and all the stress feels far, far, away.

She found God.  We all struggle with that at some point in our lives, and we all find him in different ways, in our own ways.  Can we call her selfish for finding God?  I can't call anyone selfish for wanting to find God, even if they don't realize  that there is no need to travel to India or Indonesia to find him, I can't call them selfish.

There is a lot of criticism about how she left everything behind and traveled for a year.
 I could never do this.  I have children, and a husband, and a home to look after, a family I love to look after.  I have found God, who else could give me these gifts, of little feet to kiss at bedtime, or someone to hold me.

Gilbert was indeed married, but sometimes marriages don't work, she obviously was not in love with her husband anymore.  She did not want to have children.  I don't know if staying in a unhappy marriage, depression pills, and having kids with no want for having kids is something that we would applaud or admire.  In my opinion she left at the right time.  She traveled, she found God, and she found love.  This is not to say that this is what we should do, this is her story. 

I went to the show to watch the film with my mom and a friend who said to me...

"we tend to call someone selfish when they put themselves first before anyone else, but sometimes they have to find themselves before they can be there for others".

This stuck and I can relate with the first time I rode on a plane as a mom and heard the in case of emergency instructions... "What?!?!" Put my mask on before putting it on my kids?!?"

I think that if your single woman, with no kids, and can afford to leave, to travel for a year.  Do it!  You will learn SO much.

I think that if you are married with kids, and can't afford to go traveling around the world as a family, then read the book.  It will take you to Italy for wine and good food, it will take you to India to remind you to practice yoga and breathing, and meditation.  Much needed as a mom.
It will take you to Indonesia to find friends, to learn about how you sometimes want more and don't realize how much you have compared to everyone else in the world.....and let's not forget it will take you to a Brazilian lover ( I hope Kip is not reading this).

I have no interest of being like Elizabeth Gilbert, just trying to get lost in a book amidst little toes, work, housework, commitments, responsibilities, and an Italian lover. ( :

Now, off to....eat, pray and love....


One more thing...I have never seen Julia Roberts so relaxed in a role.  I love how comfortable she looked in her bigger (but not big at all) size.  I love her style in the movie, she was perfect.