Gilbert's Tenets

It's taken me quite some time to both fully get into and appreciate Elizabeth Gilbert's book, Eat Pray Love, but it's one of those reads better once it steaps a bit. And, actually, that's one of the inspirations of the book...it makes you want to tuck a little bit of time away each day just to think a little more. Whether on the way you're doing things, why you're doing them as you are, what you're eating, with whom you're talking, what you're talking about or simply where to go to next, this book validates your every thought.

This life has such potential, especially now, to make you want to move ultra fast, sometimes forgetting all together what your motivations are or what you want them to be. What Gilbert says, and most eloquently so, is that we all need to put some more thought into things. For her, it's about her yoga practices and spirituality, but at the base of those like most other things is really just inspiration. What inspires you? And is that inspiration centered as it needs to be? Or is it sort of reckless?

Throughout the book, you get an intimate look at Gilbert's (sometimes incredibly embarrassing) thought processes, motivations and inspiration. She makes amazing leaps in the areas of honesty (both with herself and others) and love. She takes down the artifice and suffers through the journey to getting real. I am close to the end, not yet finished, but I can safely say at this point that this book is a good guide to being human and becoming better at being just that...human.

Whether looking for a good laugh, clever writing or just an adventure to Italy, India and Indonesia, you will probably enjoy this read. The title definitely wins the prize for three great tenets around which we could all stand to organize our lives. Try it out.