So, having now ridden the bandwagon and finally read this hugely popular memoir, was I impressed? Do I get it? Am I now ready to chuck my mundane life and head for parts unknown to "find myself" and all I am? Well, the answers are yes, yes, and probably not.
I am impressed with the book as a whole and with Gilbert's writing style. While I didn't read the book but listened to it on audio, it was read by the author, and she truly seemed to be reading it just to me - kind of like we were having this really long conversation about life and our vacations. It was a very enjoyable, if one-sided, conversation. I am impressed by the fact that Gilbert realized what a mess she was. I am impressed that she found a way to finance such a trip and then turn it into such a huge success for her career. I am impressed by how much work it had to be, albeit fun also, to learn so much about her life and lives of people as a whole.
Yes, I get it. As I said when I first started listening to it, I resisted this book for a long time. I hate people who say the word "guru" in a serious tone, and I hate the term "out of body experience." When I hear these phrases, I immediately think words like "crazy," "kooky," "out there," or "whoo-hoo" while twirling my index finger in a circle near my head. But now? Well, now I am beginning to see that all religions and their practices are valid in all our lives and that they really are not that contradictory in their philosophies, but only in their everyday practices and in those who try to interpret them. I totally get Gilbert's need to indulge and try to relax in Italy. I get the learning Italian thing, and I think how much I'd love to learn French. I get the spiritual awakening thing, and so much of what she said about meditation and how it changes people has me searching for cheap ways to learn how to meditate (I haven't found any yet, as classes on true transendental meditation are very expensive to take.) The only thing I didn't get was the need for a man in the end. Although, when I was listening to Gilbert talk about Phillipe, I was kind of comforted with visions of Edward Cullen rising out of her descriptions. Some of those same qualities I've talked about here in terms of the "perfect man" that Edward so embodies sure seemed to be in Phillipe. Hmmm. . .
Lastly, while I doubt whether I will ever be able to afford or find time for a journey such as Gilbert's, I can live vicariously through her. I can use her words to help me become the most self-actualized person I can be. I'm ready to read books about Hinduism and Buddhism. I might be ready to learn to meditate. I know I'm ready to find the perfect cappucino, gellato, and spaghetti around. So, maybe a guru is in order? Did I just say "guru?" Or was it you?
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