I feel weird about certain reactions to Eat, Pray, Love. I read the book and I really enjoyed it. If I had any criticisms (which I may have) I can't remember what they were. I just know I thought it was really funny (I laughed out loud a lot) and I wouldn't say it changed my life, but it definitely inspired me. It helped me decide to try dating Rase (i.e. "follow my heart"), and look how that turned out!

The complaint I've heard most about it is that it is whiny, and that readers just don't "feel bad for" or sympathize with a woman who gets paid to take a vacation and eat and pray and love. That may be a valid point but it just reeks of jealousy. Doesn't it? What people are really saying is, "I don't feel bad for her because I have my own problems and I sure am not getting paid to go to Venice and ride them out." But I kind of think the point of the book is to be HAPPY for her, not pity her. If you pity her at times, that's the fault rather than the accomplishment of the author. I should read the book again because I can totally see a memoir turning out whiny and self-absorbed, but I mostly remember really enjoying the book. And it makes me feel sad when people say things like what I mentioned above--because even if they're right, they sound petty and unhappy when they say it. And the point of the book is the opposite of pettiness and unhappiness. It's about following your bliss. Or chasing it. Or something.

I also wonder if the fact that she got paid for it really made it an easy ride for her. Financially, YES. It is definitely easier to travel when you don't have to worry about the money. She was very lucky to get paid to do this and write a book about it. Does that mean the the experience she had was less meaningful or even trying? I think the reason it seems that way is that it's assumed that if you're paid to do something, especially something most people can't do because they can't afford it, it makes your life seem really easy. There is definitely some truth to that. The wealthy (which I count as most of us) experience what I think of as very bourgeois angst: that is, angst you only feel if you're well-off enough not to worry about your basic survival. It is definitely hard to sympathize with that kind of angst because, in actuality, you have everything you need (and, potentially, want) and you're still not happy.

I'm not sure that bourgeois angst is entirely what her problem was though. I've noticed that younger women seem to be more into the book than older women, and I think that perhaps that's because younger women really sympathize with her heartbreak and her search for identity. What I think I gained from the book was the idea that you (yes YOU) deserve to be happy, even if it takes a ridiculous (maybe paid for) quest across the world to get you that way. But I don't think you necessarily need an epic quest. You may just need quilting lessons, or another shot at grad school, or a cream soda once a week. And I think that's where readers become very ungenerous with this book. The fact that she got paid to take a vacation and "find herself" seems really unfair because most of us can't. But most of us don't really need to. Some of us wouldn't even want to. We each have our own ways of dealing with unhappiness and choosing or not choosing to try to become happier. A major journey was how Liz Gilbert did it, and I would rather be grateful that she had the means to share her story with us than cranky that she had the means to do it at all.

I think one of the most difficult things to do is to be happy for another person and actually share in their joy when their position seems so much more favored than your own. But happier people makes a happier world. If her happiness matters, so does yours (and vice versa). For that reason I wish the negative and envy-filled criticism of this book would stop. It comes off as catty rather than critical, and it indicates to me an unhappy people trying to find company for their misery. There are plenty of things to criticize about this book. Should her good luck be one of them? I think we can do better to express love and keep our hearts open instead of being constantly ready to condemn and "put people in their place." Listen first, rant later: What is her book really trying to say?

Hlep?

So, for some reason I normally REALLY enjoy the show America's Next Top Model, and if I'm home and there's a marathon, I will totally watch some it. But I think my Hollins feminism is finally, if not ruining it, at least deflating the experience for me. It's because I think about the magazine they're posing for, and the content in the pose magazines, and the disempowering image they're creating for a majority of girls who don't share their body type (they're very thin!!!)...and I just feel like the show is perpetuating something big and false and bad for women. As entertainment, it's great! As soul food? Well, it's like a greasy buffet chain restaurant, which is ironic because a buffet chain restaurant is all-you-can-eat fatty foods and America's Next Top Model is thin, high-fashion girl willing to pose for swimsuit ads in a pool in mid winter. (Which, by the way, I just feel is RIDICULOUS). I don't want to be too down on the modeling world because it truly is a culture I don't understand, but I also can't help but feel skeptical and suspicious of the "product" it sells.

I just found this on Sarah Dessen's livejournal: http://www.matteroftrust.org/

you can go there to find out how to donate your hair to help the oil spill. Apparently they make these things called "booms" out of hair and nylons, which absorb oil. So, if you need a haircut or now just want one...sign up!

:-(

I realized a few minutes ago that I feel more open-hearted these days than I have ever felt before. It's a really nice feeling. :-)

so here goes.


It REALLY frustrates me that I get a migraine almost every month. Even though I am significantly more functional than many who get migraines (i.e., i often can move and I never throw up), I do not like them because they hurt and they make me feel shitty, even if I can move around. I do not like them because they last for days (and once, weeks).


So, screw migraines.


(I lost a lot of my anger after playing Mah Jong and making progress on my Logic test).

Bring it on.

The play is phenomenal. Woo hoo! Scheduling for next semester is stressful...but it doesn't have to be. *breathes deeply* I hope I can keep up with my yoga. I can't decide about the acting class. I would love to have a simple schedule.

There are children chanting outside! At least, I think they're children. If they're not then whoever it is better shut the hell up cause that ain't cute. I think it's kids though...but why would kid be here? Hm.

Take home quiz...don't know what I'll do it. Could start it this afternoon, I guess. Don't know if I'm prepared.

I'm going to be so sad when the play is over :( but if it doesn't end I'll die! Haha.

Yeeee haaaaaaaaaaaaw! I don't know what I want to be/do. That has been scaring me recently. Normally I don't mind.

The root of my fear: Chariot

 

 

• What drives you?
• What is your motiviation?
• Are your goals reasonable? Obtainable?
• What are you trying to control, and why?
• Do you have the skills you need to succeed?
• Can you try a different approach to reaching your goals?
• What would you do if you had a sudden change in direction or location?

My feelings: Two of Swords

• Am I utilizing all of my deeper facets in making decisions?
• Am I moving against the current of life, or with the flow?
• What kind of unique or unorthodox resources are available to me in my time of need?
• Can I allow solutions to come to me,or am I needlessly forcing my way through a situation?

(um, that is SO on target)


What I should do: The Emperor
"the Emperor reminds us that sometimes "doing" is the only method we have for "knowing." "

• Am I leading by example?
• What kind of ruler am I?
• Am I being inflexible? Too practical?
• Do I need some advice on this situtation?
• Upon what resources am I calling in order to be the best leader?
• What's my strategy to accomplish these goals and are they realistic?

A common theme I see has to do with being grounded and finding solidarity within myself, and then beside that the issue of control (the chariot). I think I feel out of control. And by that I mean that I TOTALLY feel out of control and I am TOTALLY scrambling for control, and I am terrified. And I need to just maybe like...center, and keep going.


Oh, goodness.


And the knight of cups.