"Eat, Pray, Love"

Yeah, I know. It's been over a year since that movie has come out and I am just now getting around to watching it. It took a sick roomie, a rainy day, and a Sister a little stir crazy like I was for it to happen, but hey, it happened. It's a great movie if you also have not seen it. The main character in the movie takes a year of her life after her divorce and travels to Italy, India, and Indonesia in search of the meaning of her life, love, and spirituality. It sounds just like something I would love to do. But it got me thinking: I kind of am doing that right now. Granted I just went two hours away to Erie, Pennsylvania, but at times it can seem like I am in a whole new world. And no, I am not just getting over a divorce, but I am ending one very big part of my life and trying to decide where to go from there. So I broke down each category and tried to explain my version of "Eat, Pray, Love". Here it goes:

"Eat"
We do a lot of eating here. There's no way you could come here and starve. Maybe just on a Sunday night, but even then you have an entire kitchen to raid if you so choose. They feed you well, you will never have anything to worry about. But I was thinking of this idea in a more abstract sense, kind of taking in whatever is around, whether it be scenery, stories, wisdom, or your daily experiences. I have tried to do this every day. "Present moment, beautiful moment" (see, I do pay attention...). There is a lot to gain both within the monastery walls and being out around so many different people in so many different situations. But you can't just let it come to you, you have to do the work too. Reflection days help with this.

"Pray"
As you might have guessed, we do a lot of that here, too. I begin and end my days with prayer. But, again, it's much more than showing up to pray with the community each day. It's about looking into your soul and searching for your inner spirit, where God lies within you and how God works through you. How does that fit into your life, your daily rhythm? Spirituality and prayer goes much deeper than just saying the words. It takes sitting in silence, reading scripture, listening to what God says to you. It's not always easy, but if you can get into the right mindset, it does work.


"Love"
Now, I'm not looking for love in the romantic sense, at least not at this moment in time, but I am searching for a love of life and of self, and a sense of purpose. It is very easy to enjoy life when you do not have a ton of pressure put on you each and every day, and you are surrounded by so many people who support you, even when you might not even notice it. It allows you to free yourself, and really just work on being you. And when you have a love for what you do, like I do with all of the kids in my class, this just sweetens the deal. I've felt that in all of the ministries. When work doesn't feel like work, then you can enjoy what you are doing. And when you can learn to love yourself fully in the process, which can take a while, and I can admit I am still working on that one, then things can come full circle.


So there's my adventure of "Eat, Pray, Love". Not exactly the wonderfully exotic and adventurous year Julia Roberts portrayed, but it is most definitely a challenge and adventure for me. Hopefully it makes sense to some of you out there. I'll tweak these here and there as the year progresses, I'm sure.