eat. pray. love.

it's been a bestseller for years.  now it's a box office hit, thanks to julia roberts.  something inside me says it's much more than a book and a movie.  you may disagree with me completely- and you reserve the right to your own opinion- there is plenty of criticism out there for this book/movie/woman/story.  i guess i just feel like, at its heart, it's a story about the journey toward oneself, which is ultimately a journey we can all relate to.  no, we don't all experience the pain of divorce...but we all experience pain.  no, we don't all run to italy to stuff ourselves with pasta, but we all seek some type of pleasure to numb the pain.  no, we don't all buy into eastern religious practices at the drop of a hat, but we all seek God in our own ways.  finally, we don't all travel to bali to hang out with a toothless medicine man and end up finding love, but we often return to the place where we first recognized truth, and we often find love when we give up looking for it.  there is something very universal about this story.  her story is my story- and your story. 

it reminds me of another story i've been reading lately...the story of a franciscan priest who walked the camino.  was he running away after a bitter divorce?  no, he chose to walk the camino in thanksgiving for 10 years of being a priest and the many blessings in his life during that time.  completely different motivations- very similar journey.  the journey inward.  the journey to oneself.  the journey to God.  in "eat pray love", the main character is searching for God, and is struck when told, "God lives in you- as you."  it's the age-old story of searching the world to find what you had all along- what changes in the process is you.  you develop new eyes- a new heart- a new attitude- and suddenly you can see/feel/appreciate/love that which you have always had. 

i was thinking about this wisdom- eat. pray. love.  i think there is something to it.  and all i can think about is the prayer and love involved in eating, and the nourishment and love involved in prayer, and the hunger and prayer involved in loving.  they are all so inter-woven.  take the last supper, for example (let's be honest- if you're going to use a meal as an example, that's the one to use!).  yes, there was eating (at least, bread was broken, right?).  but there was so much love present at that table- among jesus and his friends.  and where two or more are gathered...clearly the whole meal was one big prayer, as jesus reminded/foretold his disciples the essence of what he really wanted them to remember...God was definitely present there.  and every time i go to mass and receive the eucharist, yes, i am eating bread (transformed into jesus' body), but i'm also praying, loving, and receiving divine love.  take it down a notch.  thanksgiving dinner with the family.  lots of eating.  prayers of gratitude, whether spoken or not.  and don't even try to tell me that you don't just overflow with love as you look around the table and realize what a great gift you have in those people around you.  in shared meals, we come hungry and broken.  we leave full and whole.  eat.  pray.  love.  maybe it really is that simple.