Books

I just finished a book called 'Eat Pray Love'. Its written by a woman who travelled around the world after divorce, heartbreak and depression, to find balance, spirituality and happiness. I was amazing by her story and how it spoke to me on so many levels. In the last 2 years I too have gone through depression, a sense of loss and separation from my own identity, a breakup, and a complete change in life that resulted in moving across the world to a new unknown career, country and continent.

This book put into words so many things that I could never express. Maybe that is why Elizabeth Gilbert is the New York Times Best selling writer and I am not. Everything from yoga and meditation, to God and religion and spirituality, to love, food and happiness, I could relate to. I've never been a religious person. And up until a few years ago, I didn't believe in God whatsoever. My belief in God only came to me in 2004, while driving back from my university graduation after smoking a joint and reading the first 20 pages of 'The Life of Pi'. Even then, I didn't know how to categorize my belief, or explain it, and thus continued the role of an atheist. Gilbert used the term 'cherry picker', one who chooses certain things from certain religions. That is what I am, I could just never find the right title. The author even addresses the issues of capitilizing the 'G' in God (which I do, now), or if God should be 'He', despite Gilbert being a feminist (I think of God as more of a She, but 'It' will do too).

Even the way her mind operates. She called it monkey thinking, or something. Thoughts going from branch to branch, never stopping and easily changing direction with the slightest thought of another topic. This is me! This is the source of my insomnia since I was a kid! This has always been a challenge for me when practicing yoga, or feeling guilty, or feeling sad, homesick, happy, whatever. My brain never stops.

On Monday night, I went to a friend's birthday dinner and met a girl from Mississauga. We are the same age and have some similarities in how we ended up in Korea. We both had the job, clothes, car, house, boyfriend. Yet at 25, questioned whether this was what the rest of our lives were supposed to be all about. Early in the night, we both got on the topic about the book. She had just finished it and I was still halfway through. We both had the same feelings towards the story and the message and the book totally impacted our lives. The book is like having a conversation with a friend. Laughter, lots of 'I know what you mean' and 'Me too'.

I feel incredibly inspired to work on 'me'. I mean, I always have had time to work on me, but I never knew what direction or path would take me to the answers that I have been looking for. In the six months since I have been away from home, I have learned a lot. I still have a lot to do, but at least I know what I can do tomorrow.