steady job | dont4get2smile2day

In class this week I’m teaching Meditation. The best way to show them just how difficult meditation can be was to show them a clip from Eat, Pray, Love. And for some reason I’ve been thinking a lot since about how Elizabeth Gilbert took hold of her life and did her absolute best to improve her situation. I can’t imagine the courage it took to leave behind all she did and manage to feel safe without a safety net.

It takes me back to when I first read the book. I was battling my way through depression and anxiety, I had no idea what I was doing in life, and I wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and, to be blunt about it, die. I told my parents I was moving to Italy! Being the concerned, over-protective people they are, they immediately objected and I was forced to stay. Forced to remain in a country where the food isn’t exciting (unless you love potatoes), where it rains 90% of the time, and where every person you know seems to be emigrating! And I’m still here….

Ireland, as you might or might not know, is like the world’s least favourite country lately when it comes to the recession. We’ve been screwed and screwed badly! And when you’re being told that your pay is being cut, when you won’t be able to get a steady job for approximately 8 years, and where your supply of friends is slowly dwindling because of the prospects in Canada, America and Oz, you can’t blame us for feeling down from time to time.

Gilbert says “Happiness is the consequence of personal effort.” But does that not contradict the world’s greats?! That happiness is the path, its the journey, not the destination?

I’m inspired by Gilbert’s journey and her honesty in her book. And while I would love to do all that she has done, live in Italy, India, and Indonesia, I don’t think I’d do it to escape. I’d want to bring my happiness with me to those places and allow it to grow and to blossom!

It just makes me think of the path life takes and how only you can control it. Well, you and maybe a close friend or two. It makes me realise how lucky I am, and how strong I’ve become. And again, I thank the Universe for always giving me not just what I want but what I need. It’s one of the only reasons I’m still standing.