Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert is a book that has changed my life. I picked it up at a yardsale, the same one where I got my new wetsuit, hours before leaving DC for San Francisco. This yardsale clearly had a lot of foreshadowing about my landing in San Francisco as I now live in Alameda two blocks from the beach.More about the book. Liz embarks on a one year journey to find passion, meaning and balance in her life. The book documents her journey from Italy to India and ends in Indonesia. For me the impact is of her constant question about the direction of her life being a 30-something that has just survived a horrific divorce. What she finds on this journey is herself as well as some incredibly deep friendships. It reminds me so much of my launch from London and my past two months of nomadic wandering along the East Coast and Jamaica.
Here are the biggest take-aways from the book that have helped me rekindle my inner spark:
1. Breath
2. Be honest
3. Love myself
4. Slow down
5. Meditate
6. Forgive
7. Friendship
Liz is a remarkable, brave woman and I aspire to live as courageously and honestly as she has done...and finding balance.
