eat, pray, love

I know, I know. I can't stop raving about this book. I LOVE it this much (big, wide open arms)! And after seeing Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the book on Oprah yesterday I want to pick it up and read it all over again...today. Oprah had such an overwhelming response from viewers the first time she was on the show, that she had to have her back.

There are so many women, of all ages and all backgrounds that have been so deeply moved by this book. It was great to hear the author answer questions from many different gals. One issue that was brought up that really stood out and remains fresh in my mind is this whole concept of being "selfish". One young gal made the comment that after reading the book she made a big list of things that she would like to do, and one thing at a time, she's doing them and crossing them off her list. She said "that by discovering the world around her, she was discovering the world within her". But at times she couldn't help but feel a little selfish (that nasty word again).

The author addressed this in a way that made so much sense to me. Saying that the word selfish can have two different connotations. One being that you are being greedy, hoarding and maybe causing harm to others. But the other means that you are doing what benefits you and helps you to live to be your best. She went on to say that when we are being our best, our spirit and our soul shines a little brighter and others see this. They feel it and we in turn inspire others to live their biggest, brightest life. I love this. It really resonates with me. It makes sense to me and reminds me that we must do what we need to do to nurture ourselves. In order for us to be any good for our spouse, our kids, our boss, our friends and a whole lotta other people....we must do the things that feed our spirit. Don't think of it as being selfish. Think of it as being soulish.