Panache Blog

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Eat Pray Love: The Quest for Awakening

Elizabeth Gilbert’s story resonates deeply with my wife, Jan. She is passionate about the lessons that it offers and felt strongly about sharing with each of you this week so I lovingly pass the keyboard to her.

I know what a dark night of the soul is; that insidious moment when the world and all of its distractions shut down and you are caught alone with the real you. It’s an endless and tormenting interrogation under the glaring light of truth when you can no longer escape… that endless night when you are torn from your sleep by the burning question, the bulging emptiness, the unshed tears and the undeniable longing. “I’m in serious trouble… I don’t know what to do… I have no pulse… I need to change… I have no passion, no spark, no faith…” It is this watershed moment when we are most vulnerable; indeed when we are being called on a soul level to be cracked open and embark on a quest of awakening.

In the movie Eat Pray Love we witness Elizabeth Gilbert’s dark night when at 30, we find her in the bathroom on her knees addressing God for the first time in her life. She sobs asking him to “fix what is broken.” What results is a year-long journey of heartbreak, healing and self-discovery. Through her catharsis we catch a precious glimpse of the perfect imperfection of life. 

Liz has all the outward markers of success; education, career, marriage, house, friends and family. However when it comes to men she is a mess. Despite years of therapy, she is the permeable membrane through which she transfers her love, time, effort, energy, money and soul in an attempt to create the perfect man and loose herself in the perfect relationship. Liz is working around the clock to create something outside her to meet a deep longing within. And it’s not working.

She abruptly ends her marriage and rebounds into a juicy relationship. Ecstatic joy melts into abject misery as her world shatters. To break free of her deep depression, find balance, regain her appetite for life and to find God, Liz sets out on a 12 month journey of self examination visiting three countries all beginning with “I”- Italy, India and Indonesia. 

What Liz discovers in each breathtaking location are profound gifts for her body, mind and soul. Bear in mind that this journey is not exclusive to those with a passport and the ability to traverse the globe. Profound awakening can be achieved without ever leaving home. These insights are as close to you as your kitchen refrigerator, a quiet corner of your apartment and within the spaciousness of your heart and soul. 

The sweetness of doing nothing and the sensuous pleasures of incredible food and wine are unearthed in Italy.  With the wisdom of new friends who see her in a totally new way, she is freed to discover that what you do is not who you are.  She softens both literally and figuratively, breaking free from self-imposed constraints of body image announcing that she is through with guilt and self-loathing. Rather than denying herself anymore she simply buys jeans in a bigger size!
 
Are you holding on to anger or hatred at perceived wrongs done to you? Are you beating yourself up while waiting to be forgiven?  We’ve all done things that we judge harshly. Liz struggles with these challenges as she longs to find peace amidst her mind chatter and internal distractions at a beautiful ashram in India. Life in this setting stretches her to the limits. A self-appointed, James Taylor look-alike spiritual advisor relentlessly pushes her to surrender, still her mind and discover that she has the capacity to love the whole world. As Liz integrates her unconsciousness, she begins to reconcile her past. With every painful memory she sends love and light and then lets it go. She is transported to a new way of being when she embodies the truth that once you forgive yourself than everything else will take care of itself. Liz is awakened to the most important teaching: God dwells within you as you. You are perfect just as you are.

Balance is the lesson that Bali offers to Liz. “Not too much God – not too much selfishness,” is the wisdom offered by the local medicine man, the catalyst for her journey in the first place. Liz learns to take time every day to smile in her face; smile in her mind; and smile within her liver. She learns the only way to heal is to trust that the process is already unfolding. And in Liz’s case with this understanding she is opened to discover love again.

There are pieces of Liz’s story that resonate with all of us. This experience that we call life is not about holding onto regrets, sadness or opportunities lost. It’s about learning how to let go with love.  Regardless of where life takes you, if you are unresolved within yourself, you can never truly enjoy the present moment; the vistas, the experiences, the friends, the tastes and the smells. If you are judging your experience you know you’ve separated yourself from Source and it is simply time to begin again. Without criticism.  And sometimes being out of balance in one area of life is what brings balance overall.

Let Liz’s story be a catalyst for your journey. As you prepare to embark on your quest (be it internal or external) may it be a long one filled with adventure and discovery. May you awaken each morning remembering that each experience that unfolds is a clue to remind you of your brilliance. Everyone in your life is a teacher. Slow down. Take an unknown path. Be open to new sites, sounds and experiences. Relish the journey. And see the Divine in all you behold. That’s right, in everything. And know that when you set out in the world to help yourself, you often end up helping everyone. 
 

Posted at 5:38 pm  |  Send to a Friend