Council for Health and Human Service Ministries

Word and Deed: Thoughts on Faith-Based Leadership

Food for the Journey - Eat, Pray, Love

Shirley Nelson Have you ever looked at your life as a spiritual journey? You may see it clearly during certain times when things are going along just fine and then all of a sudden it seems that you have been moved on the chessboard of life. That's when the questions begin. Why me? Why now? Why this? And on and on, until you finally surrender and trust God regardless of how things may appear.

Author Elizabeth Gilbert wrote a book about a particular juncture in her life when she knew she was on a spiritual journey. Like many who have experienced dark nights of the soul, it was a time of desolation and unrelenting pain that drove her to the depths of despair. A marriage presumably made in heaven with all of the trappings of success was her unraveling point; she found herself face down on the bathroom floor crying out for help from anything and anyone who could give her some relief. That's when she became aware of her journey.

Gilbert's book, Eat, Pray, Love, has the capacity to trigger your emotions in unprecedented ways. In one moment you're crying and empathizing with her, and then in the next you're sitting in awe and marveling at the creative, convoluted path she has carved out to facilitate healing of her body, mind, and soul.

Her story begins with the deterioration of her marriage. After filing for divorce and then entering a relationship soon afterwards that was emotionally abusive, Gilbert locked up her heart and headed for Europe--leaving her New York home not knowing when she would return. As a writer, she had accumulated enough savings to gift herself with time off to explore some of her favorite parts of the world and live comfortably while doing so. She went to Italy first and drenched herself in the culture, people, places, and food. She had a love for the Italian language and took daily lessons to keep her mind occupied and her soul nourished while she ate and drank the country's bounty and met many people who helped her to speak the language with proficiency and ease. And indeed she did.

Six months and 27 pounds later, Gilbert traveled to India to spend time in an ashram where she learned discipline through prayer and meditation. For those who might view this as a peaceful path to better days, think again. Waking up at 3 a.m. to join her friends in the ashram for chanting, meditation, and prayers almost proved to be her undoing, once again, only this time it was in the house of the Lord. She spent many long hours agonizing about how to pray and meditate while battling doubts about her ability to do it right until she totally surrendered to the process. Four months after arriving, her inner turmoil subsided and another leg of her journey was completed.

Moving on from there, she went to Indonesia where she spent another six months or so, soaking up the culture and finding a sense of equilibrium in simple pleasures--bicycling, gardening, leisure time with friends, and walking on the beach. By the time she came to the end of her journey she had been reborn. The woman crying on the bathroom floor in New York had finally come face to face with the woman she had grown to be. Bit by bit she pieced together the broken fragments with food for the soul, prayer for the journey, and love for all times. Eat, Pray, Love can be deliciously fulfilling regardless of where you are on the path of life--opening your heart and soul to peace, love, and joy.

Shirley Nelson

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