I did something today that I haven’t done in many months.
I sat down to meditate.
It was only for 10 minutes, nothing crazy. The weather in Taormina has been rainy and windy all day, and after spending the last few days traversing throughout Sicily, I was ready to take a day to collect myself and relax.
So why meditate today?
To be honest, I was inspired to meditate because I am eating Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I know, I know—you’re probably thinking: how incredibly cliché and embarrassing of me. I know the reputation the book has, and I know that it’s mostly women who have read it. However, I still felt like it could get me into the right mindset during my travels, so I decided to give it a try.
The book is a memoir about the author’s search to “find herself” following a divorce from her husband and a tumultuous relationship with another man. She travels to Italy (Eat), India (Pray), and Indonesia (Love), spending four months in each country to accomplish this mission. While I haven’t experienced a divorce, I was surprised with how much I had in common with what Liz was experiencing on her travels, such as her tendency to worry. The more I read, the more I realized that I was experiencing one of those divine “right book, right time” moments. If I had read this a few months or years earlier, it would not have had nearly the same impact on me, but it made its way into my life just when I needed it most.
So here I am in Italy like Liz, reading the “Eat” portion of the book and understanding that yes, I must eat too. And a lot. I had been restraining myself from eating too much for all sorts of reasons—don’t wanna gain too much weight, don’t wanna spend too much money, the usual. But no, I am here, so I should try as much as I can while I have the time. My new policy is: No gelato gets left behind.
As the rain poured against the window of my Airbnb this afternoon, I eventually made it to the “Pray” portion of the book. Liz ventures to an Ashram in India to deepen her spiritual and yogic practice. She spends a good portion of her time here meditating, which is thus why I decided to give it a try.
One of the stark similarities that I found between Liz and myself is that during our travels, we felt closer to God, or rather more of a yearning to acknowledge God. Even just admitting that in writing feels strange to me because none of my friends are religious or talk about God. It is something that is largely absent in my life. But when you are alone, you need something or someone to turn to, and oftentimes, the only thing present is God.
During my time here in Italy, I have visited countless churches and cathedrals. Though I am not Catholic, I often asked myself upon entering these buildings, “Are you going to say something to God or are you just going to take pictures?” In other words, when one enters a holy place, one must make a conscious decision to accept or deny any spirituality or religiosity. For me, the decision is simple. There is no downside to saying a quick prayer.
There is a part in the book in which Liz says that prayer is speaking to God, and meditation is listening to God. I find this to be an apt explanation. Regardless of whether you are religious or not, I think it is healthy—from both a mental and emotional perspective—to spend time participating in both of these activities.
Prayer is a time to reflect on the good and the bad—to show gratitude for the gifts in your life and to voice your worries and concerns. Through this practice, you can find meaning in your life, identifying what is actually important and what is superfluous.
Meditation, on the other hand, is a time to empty the mind, to remove yourself from your ego (the thing that drives your desires and worries) and to let answers come to you. It is the very thing that creates balance in one’s life.
I am no expert on prayer or meditation, so I can’t speak to how effective it is or can be. I have tried both of these things in the past without any major success or breakthroughs. But I do know that the door to pray and meditate is always open. I also know that these are things that cannot be forced upon people. As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. It’s up to you to decide whether the time is right.
As I opened my eyes after my ten minutes of meditation, I felt a calmness spread through me in a way that I have had difficulty experiencing on my trip so far. While I don’t expect to have the same level of spiritual breakthroughs that Liz experiences in the Ashram in India, I do hope that the actions of prayer and meditation can help me find some balance in my life. Or maybe the whole point is to not hope at all and rather to just be in the present moment—alone, with God, whoever.
More gelato and mindfulness… the plan from here on out.
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I did something today that I haven’t done in many months.
I sat down to meditate.
It was only for 10 minutes, nothing crazy. The weather in Taormina has been rainy and windy all day, and after spending the last few days traversing throughout Sicily, I was ready to take a day to collect myself and relax.
So why meditate today?
To be honest, I was inspired to meditate because I am eating Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I know, I know—you’re probably thinking: how incredibly cliché and embarrassing of me. I know the reputation the book has, and I know that it’s mostly women who have read it. However, I still felt like it could get me into the right mindset during my travels, so I decided to give it a try.
The book is a memoir about the author’s search to “find herself” following a divorce from her husband and a tumultuous relationship with another man. She travels to Italy (Eat), India (Pray), and Indonesia (Love), spending four months in each country to accomplish this mission. While I haven’t experienced a divorce, I was surprised with how much I had in common with what Liz was experiencing on her travels, such as her tendency to worry. The more I read, the more I realized that I was experiencing one of those divine “right book, right time” moments. If I had read this a few months or years earlier, it would not have had nearly the same impact on me, but it made its way into my life just when I needed it most.
So here I am in Italy like Liz, reading the “Eat” portion of the book and understanding that yes, I must eat too. And a lot. I had been restraining myself from eating too much for all sorts of reasons—don’t wanna gain too much weight, don’t wanna spend too much money, the usual. But no, I am here, so I should try as much as I can while I have the time. My new policy is: No gelato gets left behind.
As the rain poured against the window of my Airbnb this afternoon, I eventually made it to the “Pray” portion of the book. Liz ventures to an Ashram in India to deepen her spiritual and yogic practice. She spends a good portion of her time here meditating, which is thus why I decided to give it a try.
One of the stark similarities that I found between Liz and myself is that during our travels, we felt closer to God, or rather more of a yearning to acknowledge God. Even just admitting that in writing feels strange to me because none of my friends are religious or talk about God. It is something that is largely absent in my life. But when you are alone, you need something or someone to turn to, and oftentimes, the only thing present is God.
During my time here in Italy, I have visited countless churches and cathedrals. Though I am not Catholic, I often asked myself upon entering these buildings, “Are you going to say something to God or are you just going to take pictures?” In other words, when one enters a holy place, one must make a conscious decision to accept or deny any spirituality or religiosity. For me, the decision is simple. There is no downside to saying a quick prayer.
There is a part in the book in which Liz says that prayer is speaking to God, and meditation is listening to God. I find this to be an apt explanation. Regardless of whether you are religious or not, I think it is healthy—from both a mental and emotional perspective—to spend time participating in both of these activities.
Prayer is a time to reflect on the good and the bad—to show gratitude for the gifts in your life and to voice your worries and concerns. Through this practice, you can find meaning in your life, identifying what is actually important and what is superfluous.
Meditation, on the other hand, is a time to empty the mind, to remove yourself from your ego (the thing that drives your desires and worries) and to let answers come to you. It is the very thing that creates balance in one’s life.
I am no expert on prayer or meditation, so I can’t speak to how effective it is or can be. I have tried both of these things in the past without any major success or breakthroughs. But I do know that the door to pray and meditate is always open. I also know that these are things that cannot be forced upon people. As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. It’s up to you to decide whether the time is right.
As I opened my eyes after my ten minutes of meditation, I felt a calmness spread through me in a way that I have had difficulty experiencing on my trip so far. While I don’t expect to have the same level of spiritual breakthroughs that Liz experiences in the Ashram in India, I do hope that the actions of prayer and meditation can help me find some balance in my life. Or maybe the whole point is to not hope at all and rather to just be in the present moment—alone, with God, whoever.
More gelato and mindfulness… the plan from here on out.
