Eat, Pray, Love…the inspiration​.

The movie “Eat, Pray, Love” is one of my favorite films, featuring one of my favorite actresses, Julia Roberts. For those of you who’s never seen it, the film is about a woman, Liz, who is freshly out of a divorce and further away from what she thought she wanted out of life than she thought. She decides to go on a journey of self-discovery that takes her to Italy, India, and Bali where she eats, prays, and ultimately falls in love. Not only do I feel as though the movie was well done, I loved the honesty in the experience of a woman who by all accounts had the life we are taught to aspire to but allows her self to dig deeper and know that there has to be so much more.

About two or so years ago, I had one of my worst bouts with depression yet. Things in life just seemed to be caving in around me, and I felt myself spiraling. I decided then that I would go on an “eat, pray, love” journey of my own. Now, unlike Liz, I didn’t quite have the means to just up and travel the world for three months, so I had to get crafty and quickly discovered how to make travel, spirituality, healing and loving work on my terms. I’m excited to share some of the tips and lessons I’ve learned since setting out to obtain my ultimate goal of happiness, healthiness, and wholeness.

Here are a 10 of my favorite quotes from the movie that have helped shape my journey.

What I’ve learned is that I don’t have to wait until I have a lot of money nor a lot of time. I don’t even have to wait until life is “together,” I can begin to explore life as I come to know it through travels both near and far and unlock new experiences I didn’t even know were right in my backyard. I encourage you to start by visiting a local Museum, spend the day at a park in a different city, enjoy a massage at a $30 spa, they may talk through your session, but it’ll likely be some of the best work you’ve had done lol. Turn off the radio on your commute home and allow yourself to sit in silence. Listen to the sounds of the streets around you, let your thoughts flow, open your mind to your intuition, God, the universe or whatever you want to call it. It’s the easiest way to begin a meditation practice and the best way to allow the day to start to roll off you even before you step into your home. The whole point of this journey is to get out of life all the best that it has to offer and allow yourself to become your best self. It’s a road to freedom and a self-love commitment towards happy, healthy and whole.