i never finish books. well maybe not 'never'... but i can say without exaggeration that i don't need all of my fingers to count the number of books i have read cover to cover. at some point most every story - fact or fiction, theory or science - falls to the bottom of the pile under its more appealing competition, which probably just has a prettier cover. for this reason, though somewhat ironically, bookstores are my weakness. i never fail to find 7 new books, on topics i feel a need to master, of which i will purchase one and return home to put the rest in my amazon 'save for later' shopping cart.for two weeks i have been mindfully procrastinating on reading the last few chapters of eat pray love. i started reading this true story the day before the summer solstice, also the day before i was waking up at 4 am to practice 108 sun salutations. (deciding that this would be a good way to honor my father's birthday annually) to commemorate my intention, i made myself a mala - a string of 108 beads used to pray or chant a mantra. naturally i started with the intro of my new favorite book, which explained the reason that it was written in 108 chapters. the author, liz gilbert, taught the spiritual meaning behind the number, and it's relevance to the spiritual journey her book poetically details.
at the beginning of the book i was frequently caught laughing out loud on the 30x, reading on my way to work. the connection i felt to the story was almost erie, yet comforting. a story of a woman who was trying to resolve her somewhat random love for italian culture, the unexplained desire to learn the language and live out the decadent yet simple life of an italian...balanced with the search for a deeper understanding of self, a spiritual practice, the ability to let go and sit still, and an openness to profound unconditional love.
i found too many coincidences and similarities to list here, i may as well just read it again. hopefully i'll remember them for my own entertainment later. but for posterity, i'll mention one. just before finishing the book tonight i was looking at elizabeth gilbert's website, and found this quote
“To change your life, the important thing is not necessarily to travel; the important thing is to SHIFT.”
as hokey as it sounds, tonight it was like saying goodbye to a friend when i reached 108. i not only read this one cover to cover, most of the words i read twice. thanks to my best friend jenn, in atlanta, for having this one on her night stand.
