Eat, Pray, Love...Just So-So

I think my biggest problem with "Eat, Pray, Love" was the concept of a woman in her 30's leaving everything in her life behind...successful job, friends, lovers...and heading off to Italy, India, and Bali to find herself. Since this is based on a true story, I can't help but think the real woman in the case was a little whacky.

I kept wondering why she needed to immerse herself in foreign countries with foreign languages and religions in order to find her inner child. Couldn't she have found it in her own country or at least in an English speaking country?

I really do understand the idea of wanting to put a great distance between yourself and your present life if you want to find the freedom to figure yourself out. If I hadn't had kids, there were many times in my life that I would love to have done that. If I'd also had unlimited funds, I might have run far away to Ireland and begun a new life there. But never in my wildest dreams would I have considered going to the slums of India to find myself.

Pretend I had no children and lots of money (with no money, my runaway place would have been British Columbia...see, I did have pie in the sky plans). Anyway, with money, I would have filled a few suitcases and flown to Ireland where I would have settled in a sweet and friendly village. The vast distance from Canada would have allowed my mind to relax and discover what I really wanted out of my life. I could maybe have learned what the world had to offer.

But that didn't happen. I don't regret the way I've spent my life, other than not going to university, because I've grown to realize that if you live long enough, you will find yourself wherever you happen to be. It's only in the past few years that I've become comfortable that I'm where I'm supposed to be and learning the most important lesson you can learn in life, and that is to know you truly can consciously become a better person if you choose to take that road.

I've always loved my family but I don't think I fully appreciated them in earlier years. I was so deep into my own personal troubles that it was almost impossible to look outside myself. It took a lot of years but once I emerged and took in the wide, wide world around me, I began to see things differently. There are so many possibilities and so many areas to explore. Of course, my timid nature won't allow me to take great chances but that's okay. You also have to accept your limitations without resentment.

To really find yourself, you simply have to calmly assess the truths in your life. You can grow from there.