eat, pray, love

So, for one reason or another, my sleeping pattern is all kinds of off kilter. (probably nerves-related). So the last two nights I have woken up around 3 in the morning and have not been able to go back to sleep. So, I read a book in three days. Which is not terribly fast for the amount of time that I was reading it, but fast for me. It usually takes me at least a week to get through a book (and that is when i am dedicated.)

So the book was called (I am a little embarrassed to admit): Eat, Pray, Love, a very pop-culture book. It turns out it was very entertaining and moderately infused with some nuggets of wisdom and eloquence. I have never really been drawn to India, nor Indonesia, but after reading this book, I would love to go visit both. Here are some of my favorite excerpts from the book:

"the resting place of the mind is the heart."

"There is a literal anatomy and a poetic anatomy. One is made of bones and teeth and flesh, the other is made of energy and memory and faith. But they are equally true."

"...in a beautiful place of worship, surrounded by grace."

"you gotta stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be."

"What is the alternative? To quit whenever something gets challenging? To futz around your whole life, miserable and incomplete?"

"Congratulations to meet you!"

"So now I take time every morning to search myself for specifically about what i am truly asking for. I kneel there in the temple with my face on the cold marble for as long as it takes me to formulate the authentic prayer. If I don't feel sincere, than I will stay there on the floor until I do. What worked yesterday doesn't work today. Prayers can become stale and drone into boring if you let your attention stagnate in making an effort to stay alert. I am assuming custodial responsibility for the maintenance of my soul."

"People follow different paths, straight or crooked, according to their temperament, depending on which they consider best or most appropriate- and they all reach You, just as rivers reach the ocean."

"Fear-- who cares."



Next Book: Three Cups of Tea