A Reflection on the Influence of 'Eat Pray Love'

If you haven't watched the movie or read a book authored by Elizabeth Gilbert, eat pray and love, you're not missing out much. The book is definitely not for everyone but I saw how that book influenced people to get out of their comfort zone and venture into the unknown finding their purpose in life.

Liz, the main character in the book discovered that she's unhappy. She seemed to have everything in life according to societal standard, a loving husband, a house, great career but there's just something that she's missing from her relationship that she couldn't point out. Liz hoped and prayed but eventually sold all her possession, got a divorce and traveled the world.

Both in the movie and the book, she was traveling around Europe, India and eventually Bali. In all these scenes, it was showing the romanticisation of finding one self in beautiful scenery. Apparently, it appears to attract certain audience who are also having mid-life crisis. There are many people I met throughout my wandering who told me that they saw the movie eat pray love and was inspired by it to do the same.

But of course, reality can be different from what they portrayed in the movie. In reality, I was advised many things about visiting India and staying at an Ashram. Though some loved it, there are people I met that told me it can be challenging especially as a solo female traveler.

I find it so intriguing that now, they ended up at "tropical" paradise and it's probably time for reflection for them. Not to mention, it's also time about making more connections and possibly finding someone to settle down with. The later might not always necessary but it's definitely the common theme that I've seen around.

The truth is, when I was younger I read that book and I think around 2018, I wanted to do the same except I didn't fit the character of Liz and I was much younger to have something called mid-life crisis. But I am not going to lie that the book also inspired me to travel the world and not just see but experience things.

Only in recent times, I realized how though I have the freedom to be anywhere and the freedom to determine my life, I wasn't utilizing it that well. I was still scared of uncertainties and wanting many control in my life. I was also scared that things would not go well and it became sort of manifestation itself. But once I learned letting go of thoughts like that, it feels much more freeing and that I let go of weights of such negative thoughts. It definitely sounds reckless but considering that I am not really tied anywhere, it's just something more reasonable. Why have toxicity when I can find happiness around and elsewhere?

One thing that I also find interesting is that how many people I met at the hostel spent a year working and saved up to travel to places. I am definitely not sure if that's possible saving up and working from my country then travel the world but now that I see how reasonable things can be, it's definitely doable to saved up for a year and travel around.

Last but not least, I've always think in terms of age-based mindset. This means that a person has to do something by certain age limit and things like that. But here, I find many people just started traveling in their late 20's and started seeing how different cultures and people could be. So the lesson is that not to rush things and let things fall out on its time because there are times when things happen at its perfect time and where we supposed to need it. That's what this wandering has been teaching me, to change my mindset from age-based limit to something else. We can travel early, we can also travel late, and do things within our own choice instead letting other people choosing for us and deciding when we should do/shouldn't do things that we want.