Eat, Pray, Love

I finished my first book for the month was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I have to say that I absolutely loved this book.  I related to it more than I could possibly say.  Maybe it was her codependent relationships or her commitment to beating her misery, but I related.  Also read the book as it is so much better than the Julia Roberts movie.

Elizabeth's journey out of depression, which resulted from a failed marriage and then a codependent affair that left her drained and vulnerable.  She came up with an idea to bring balance, God and pleasure into her life by going to 3 different countries:  Italy (for pleasure), India (for prayer) and Indonesia (for balance).  It is a book about finding herself again, which is something that I appreciate very much. 

While reading this book, I forgot one major component of healing, which is healing of the heart.  I, too, have codependent relationships with men according to my darling assistant, whom I affectionately call Watson.  I do believe that she is right on some level as losing him was what caused this terrible bout of depression that I am coming out of at the moment.  I don't believe that the heart ever heals as quickly as the mind, body or spirit.  I think that was why love is last in the title.

Now, we can't all travel around the world and find the healing that we need.  I wish that we all could go on that physical extraordinary journey, but financial realities make that an impossibility for most of us.  However, we can have transformative experiences right where we are.  I created the wellness plan for that reason, while I may not be able to have an amazing garden in Bali, I can replicate the scents with a bubble bath.  While I can't do yogic meditation in India, I can take a Yoga class and practice meditation at home.  Though I can't eat my way through Italy( though I have been there and the food is AMAZING), I can experiment with food and cook my own or eat at new places. 

There is always something that we can do to rebuild our lives.  We just have to find the balance and then get there.  I would like to add that I am feeling happy for the first time in a long time and not just for a moment, but that might be tomorrow's post.