more eat, pray, love

reading this book, or memoir, was like having first hand insight into Gilbert's thoughts - and to some very personal thoughts at that.  It wasn't what I anticipated.  The one impulse that made me pick up this book was the comment that someone made to me about it.  She said that it was just a regular girl that decided to change her life. That she just picked up and went travelling and became successful.  It intrigued me, I wanted to read about her journey from mediocrity to excellence.  However, from what I read, she had already achieved a certain amount of success and decided to leave it all. She was a successful writer, married, lived in New York, etc...

So, the truth is, she was not satisfied with what she had. Something was not right.

Gilbert makes a lot of astute observations and articulates certain feelings very clearly.  It isn't a book that is profound or that I admire.  It isn't even a book that I would recommend.  But it is a book that is quotable.  The quotes are not credited to Gilbert.  At least not the quotes that I like.  They are things that others have relayed to her and then have for one reason or another resonated with me.

Her experiences allowed me to remember things.  To remember what it is like to meet new people and the insights others can offer you.  The importance of being open to allow others in and to listen to what they have to say.  You never know who may come along, what might be said, and the lasting impressions that are made, can be priceless.

I would like to share one with you:

"...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's holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.  A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake.  But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah.  Too painful.  Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave..." (p. 149)

We all need these rare persons who shake us up, or shake us out, of a place that we may not even be conscious of.  Who are these "soul mates" that turn on a light bulb in our numb minds? Bless them, they are necessary.  But they are hard to let go.