Between the Covers: Stories from My Bookcase

Monday, September 7, 2009

Eat, Pray, Love

After posting about this book months ago, I finally have it in print.  It was enlightening to read this woman's journey to self discovery. She set out to straighten herself after going through a tumultuous divorce, but she ended up doing so much more.




I am amazed by her journey, and I envy her at the same time. I can't even watch a movie by myself, let alone travel to three different countries on my own. And with very little planning at that.

She doesn't claim to have the formula for healing a broken heart, or mending a broken spirit. What she does is just relate her experiences, and by doing so, I think she has shared many gems that will help countless women find their way in the world too. She also talks of finding balance, and isn't that something we are all looking for?

She inspires me, not to travel alone but to chart my own spiritual course. It would be wonderful to once again understand what my personal relationship is to God. I pray to him, sometimes. I thank Him, sometimes. And that won't do.

Recently, I saw these beautifully made rosaries online. They are being made by a family, and they sell it to raise funds to care for their baby's medical bills. Read up on Hannah's story, and order a rosary or two. Just let them know verabear sent them your way. Anyway, as I was saying... So I saw their rosaries and there was a particular style of the cross that appealed to me but I felt it would look even more beautiful matched with a certain type of beads. I just felt like I had to own one according to a certain specification that they are even willing to accomodate. The thing is, I don't pray the rosary. In my experience growing up in the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, I haven't seen anyone pray the rosary.

I attended an all-girl Catholic high school and I learned to pray the rosary there. For some time, I prayed the rosary regularly at bedtime, and whenever we were asked to do so in school. I wasn't bothered by this and I most certainly didn't see any conflict with our Church. I didn't have any special requests when I would say the rosary, I was just praying. I still prayed in a way that I was conversing with the Lord, but somehow following the beads of the rosary was something I found comfort in doing. I have to be honest though, there were countless time that I'd fall asleep in the middle of the rosary! Do you think Mama Mary minded those times? I don't think so.

So I told the boyfriend about me taking up the rosary, and he was like, are you going to use it? He's Roman Catholic and he doesn't regularly pray the rosary. Still, he said he'd show me how to do it if I'd already forgotten. Hmm. We'll see.

Back to the book. I highly recommend this to everyone, not just women seeking balance in their lives. She's very witty too, and I can hear her voice in my head while reading (but maybe that's because I listened to parts of the audio book before I actually read it).

There is talk that a studio has bought movie rights for the book, that's definitely something to look forward to. I wonder who's playing Liz? What about Luca Spaghetti? And Richard from Texas? And Felipe? That's going to be one yummy movie for sure. Haha.

Oh, and I have a new word too - attraversiamo!

*This is a repost from my personal blog http://verabear.net