I've established a fun little tradition for myself. Whenever we visit the WWU bookstore, I make it a point to purchase a book. Hey, it's a win-win! Not only do I get something new to read, but I support #1 Offspring's college too!
The last book I purchased there was Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. This book is really part travelogue, part autobiography, and part spiritual reflection. Depressed after a bitter divorce and complicated love affair, the author sets out on a yearlong path to recovery and self-discovery. She divides the year equally between Italy (where she explores the art of pleasure via food and language), India (where she learns devotion in an Ashram), and Indonesia (where she learns to achieve balance and has a little romance thrown in as well).
Although at times the author seems just a bit too pleased with her own special self, the book is, for the most part, well-written and insightful.
This paragraph sums up pretty nicely what Gilbert learned about happiness:
"People universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. ... It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments."
Some good thoughts there! I'm giving the book 4 out of 5 cat pajamas.
(cats from www.artbyshelley.com)
1 comment:
yes, indeed; some very good thoughts. And I like the "critique cats"
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