Life Reflecting Art

Er, reflecting someone else's life is more accurate I suppose.  One of my neighbors loaned me their copy of "Eat Pray Love" to read.  She warned me the beginning was kind of depressing and not that exciting, but it got better.  I hadn't ever had any desire to read this book because the subject matter didn't really interest me, but I was in the middle of "Memoirs Of A Geisha" and I figured depressing HAD to be better than mind-numbingly boring so I was happy to give it a try. 

Interestingly enough, the first part where she is immersed in pleasureable things in Italy, including food, was not difficult for me to read at all.  I didn't find the talk of her divorce depressing and I finished that part of the book very quickly.  Maybe I liked it because I've always thought Italy would be a beautiful place to visit.  Not that it was the best thing I ever read, but enjoyable enough.

But the second part, where she's meditating in an Ashram in India...that was like punishment for me to read.  I was either bored and falling asleep (although I must say it was still more interesting than the Geisha book) or just plain irritated with what I was reading.  I felt like I had as much trouble getting through that part of the book as she did with getting her mind right while meditating.  I couldn't get through that section fast enough, many times I thought about just skipping ahead.

So reading about eating good food = enjoyable.  Reading about meditation & prayer = nearly torture.  I found this parallel to my own life quite humorous.  My husband, who has very similar beliefs as I do, laughed at the irony as well. 

You see, clearly food & I get along very well, and I would totally love to have the freedom to just do whatever I wanted and indulge myself in pleasurable activities.  At this point of my life I'd love to even know what I would do if I did have the opportunity, because right now I honestly have no idea what *I* like.  As for the other, while I'm not opposed to meditating for it's relaxation/stress reduction benefits, the whole becoming one with god and the universe (and, well, pretty much anything having to do with religion) is just not my thing.  In my past attempts to give religion/belief a try I've always found myself feeling annoyed or bored.  Nothing about it appeals to me, just like nothing about that section of the book appealed to me.

At the very least I got a laugh out of myself, and a welcome break from the monotony of that other book.  Hmm, I suppose I should go back to reading that now, bummer.