Eat, Pray, Love could not have been a more fitting novel for me to read this break. In the midst of junior year chaos and never-ending stress, I made the fateful decision to read about someone else’s journey of walking away from the destruction of monotonous, draining life in the search for serenity and self discovery. The result from reading this novel is neither a beneficial nor detrimental one, because I have been thinking about the book almost constantly as I step back from the too-short break of the past week and into work and cramming mode. For that reason, I elected to write my response in an Eat, Pray, Love-esque style, divided by the effect of each of the three sections and countries that Elizabeth went to, and how her travels taught me about the true meaning of escape.
Liz’s escape of her divorce issues and twisted relationship occurs in Italy, yet she does not only deal with distressing from the hatred and confusion spiraling back in New York. Liz seeks indulgence and more specifically, pleasure. Liz does not fail to point out the central issue in most of us: the idea that “Americans have an inability to relax into sheer pleasure…Americans work harder and longer and more stressful hours than anyone in the world today…Americans don’t really know how to do nothing” (Gilbert 61). To say the least, most of us are those Americans, escaping stress in all the wrong ways, and already trapped in that cycle at such a young age. Regardless, while Liz traveled through Italy, doing what she wanted with who she wanted to be with, I realized that escape does not have to be literal. The fact that “the beauty of doing nothing is the goal of all your work, the final accomplishment for which you are most highly congratulated. The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life’s achievement” (61). Liz quickly takes on a carefree attitude, which is hard to accept since carefree, in our society, is associated with irresponsibility or an excuse for covering up issues with food and pleasure. However, this idea is only accepted in America, because the Italians rejoice in Liz’s indulgence and release. So what if she gains 10 pounds, just buy a new pair of jeans! Want that spaghetti? Eat it. Go for a walk if you want! All of these things Liz bask in. It is so seemingly uncommon to do so, but it is so perfect. Liz teaches that nothing-nothing- controls your world except you. Therefore, your world cannot be happy unless you are.
“Letting go, of course, is a scary enterprise for those of us who believe that the world revolved only because it has a handle of the top of it which we personally turn, and that if we were to drop this handle for even a moment, well-that would be the end of the universe” (155). Liz’s escape in India focuses around just this central issue. The fear to let go and trust is so strong is so many of us, so constricting and relentless, that many of us break from the pressure. However, a higher power is always holding the handle and the turning the world. On a personal standpoint, and in agreement with Elizabeth, success and peace comes from removing the block of all the meaningless stuff that we fill our lives in and replacing it with trust in God. In meditation, Liz “meditate(s) on (and with) God” and finally realizes that meditation is not a job, or a written set of guidelines (158). Once the mind is clear, the escape can go anywhere, anywhere away from the realities of life and into deeper and more profound things. In India, escape takes a deeper meaning as it turns from an escape from daily stresses to an internal escape and into the trust of God. The exact act of doing so is so “indescribable” as Liz suggests, that the only explanation is complicated and confusing (199). The escape in Liz’s words: “I left my body, I left the room, I left the planet, I stepped through time and I entered the void” (199).
Indonesia shows the turning point of the escape. Liz broke apart in Italy, cleansed in India, and now is putting the pieces back together in Indonesia. Liz’s reconstructing shows the precision needed to successfully redevelop a life. She falls in love but cannot admit it; she makes friends and bonds with people and tests her own personal limits. Wayan and Felipe bring Liz back to a restored state. She can now trust herself and live her life in balance, realistically, without the limitations like silence, celibacy, scheduled chantings and meditations. “Attraversiamo” or “Let’s cross over” is Liz’s word to sum up her experiences (331). After the departure of the escape, there is a coming back, not to the same chaos and confusion of before, but of something new, refined and pure, the perfect product of her journey.
Eat, Pray, Love could not have been a more fitting novel for me to read this break. In the midst of junior year chaos and never-ending stress, I made the fateful decision to read about someone else’s journey of walking away from the destruction of monotonous, draining life in the search for serenity and self discovery. The result from reading this novel is neither a beneficial nor detrimental one, because I have been thinking about the book almost constantly as I step back from the too-short break of the past week and into work and cramming mode. For that reason, I elected to write my response in an Eat, Pray, Love-esque style, divided by the effect of each of the three sections and countries that Elizabeth went to, and how her travels taught me about the true meaning of escape.
Liz’s escape of her divorce issues and twisted relationship occurs in Italy, yet she does not only deal with distressing from the hatred and confusion spiraling back in New York. Liz seeks indulgence and more specifically, pleasure. Liz does not fail to point out the central issue in most of us: the idea that “Americans have an inability to relax into sheer pleasure…Americans work harder and longer and more stressful hours than anyone in the world today…Americans don’t really know how to do nothing” (Gilbert 61). To say the least, most of us are those Americans, escaping stress in all the wrong ways, and already trapped in that cycle at such a young age. Regardless, while Liz traveled through Italy, doing what she wanted with who she wanted to be with, I realized that escape does not have to be literal. The fact that “the beauty of doing nothing is the goal of all your work, the final accomplishment for which you are most highly congratulated. The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life’s achievement” (61). Liz quickly takes on a carefree attitude, which is hard to accept since carefree, in our society, is associated with irresponsibility or an excuse for covering up issues with food and pleasure. However, this idea is only accepted in America, because the Italians rejoice in Liz’s indulgence and release. So what if she gains 10 pounds, just buy a new pair of jeans! Want that spaghetti? Eat it. Go for a walk if you want! All of these things Liz bask in. It is so seemingly uncommon to do so, but it is so perfect. Liz teaches that nothing-nothing- controls your world except you. Therefore, your world cannot be happy unless you are.
“Letting go, of course, is a scary enterprise for those of us who believe that the world revolved only because it has a handle of the top of it which we personally turn, and that if we were to drop this handle for even a moment, well-that would be the end of the universe” (155). Liz’s escape in India focuses around just this central issue. The fear to let go and trust is so strong is so many of us, so constricting and relentless, that many of us break from the pressure. However, a higher power is always holding the handle and the turning the world. On a personal standpoint, and in agreement with Elizabeth, success and peace comes from removing the block of all the meaningless stuff that we fill our lives in and replacing it with trust in God. In meditation, Liz “meditate(s) on (and with) God” and finally realizes that meditation is not a job, or a written set of guidelines (158). Once the mind is clear, the escape can go anywhere, anywhere away from the realities of life and into deeper and more profound things. In India, escape takes a deeper meaning as it turns from an escape from daily stresses to an internal escape and into the trust of God. The exact act of doing so is so “indescribable” as Liz suggests, that the only explanation is complicated and confusing (199). The escape in Liz’s words: “I left my body, I left the room, I left the planet, I stepped through time and I entered the void” (199).
Indonesia shows the turning point of the escape. Liz broke apart in Italy, cleansed in India, and now is putting the pieces back together in Indonesia. Liz’s reconstructing shows the precision needed to successfully redevelop a life. She falls in love but cannot admit it; she makes friends and bonds with people and tests her own personal limits. Wayan and Felipe bring Liz back to a restored state. She can now trust herself and live her life in balance, realistically, without the limitations like silence, celibacy, scheduled chantings and meditations. “Attraversiamo” or “Let’s cross over” is Liz’s word to sum up her experiences (331). After the departure of the escape, there is a coming back, not to the same chaos and confusion of before, but of something new, refined and pure, the perfect product of her journey.
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