Smiling With My Liver

Elizabeth Gilbert is a writer out of New York. 

After experiencing a major life crisis, divorce in this case, which left her feeling hollow and without passion for anything or anyone, she decides she needs a year off from her everyday existence.  Her decision leads her to Italy, India, and Indonesia where she discovers balance through eating, praying, and loving.  Upon her return, she put it all down in book form: a move which propelled her into bookstores and households across American and the world.  As a crowning compliment to her achievements, Julia Roberts portrayed her in a widely advertised film.  It was recently released to the public.

Tonight I saw it with my daughter and a few girlfriends.  We giggled and sighed and conetemplated throughout.  Accompanied, of course, by the prerequisite smuggled bags of air popcorn and a box of Red Vines for interested parties with discriminating palates.  Amy Alaska and I chastely agreed that Javier Bardem was quite a soothing balm for the eyes; Neighbor Betsy came up with the term 'pizza pants' to describe the jean hunt our heroine took to accomodate her pasta-grown muffin top.  We all agreed that eating our way through Italy seemed an appropriate use of three months of our lives!

Though I don't meditate or chant or need someone to interpret the lines on my palm, I am a seeker after God and the balance He desires me to have in life.  As a practicing and growing Christian, I filter what I see and hear through that perspective.  Without going too deep, I drew many parallels between Elizabeth's search and what many of us are desiring and attempting in our own lives.  I listened to the book during my morning walks last fall, long before I knew a movie with my gal was on the horizon.  Then, it was the author's voice narrating the story.  Even with Julia's distinctive voice, I could still hear the other woman, the originator of the words, throughout the movie.  Because it's her story.

I've got my own story to live out.  I've even got a few I want to write out.  And, I'm endlessly fascinated by the stories being lived out by those around me.  Some decidedly more so than others, of course.  The thought which struck me as the credits began to roll, and all of us gals stood to shake the stray snack crumbs from our clothes, was how so many of us, me included, stand in our own way.  I've struggled against that in certain areas for a lifetime.  But I don't want to accept it as my forever regular.

I recalled advice I've suggested to my little brother just about every other phone call.  He's caught in behavioral patterns that lead him down the same spiraling path every few months.  Then, he lathers, rinses, and REPEATS.  It's not working.  My suggestion was for him to do or think the opposite of his initial impulses or thought processes.  Intentionally shove them out of the way and go in a completely foreign direction.  If he thinks, "Cuss and scream and throw furniture to rail at the unfairness of the system!" then opt for "Be silent and go sit down somewhere for a few minutes."

On the drive home, I realize I need to take my own advice.  Work on opposing a few of my own regular thoughts and feelings with substitutions from the 180 degree side of things.  What's good for the gosling is surely good for the goose.  Instead of thinking, "I must learn to control my emotional eating to be a better successful person," I might try, "Better eating habits will help me to feel less out of control and allow me to emote in healthier arenas."

It's difficult to erase that inner dialogue.  But if that is what is at our core and is what we believe, then it is what we will live out externally to the world.  I want to empty the trash from my house so the Lord can rush in to fill the newly cleared and inviting space.  One opposite mind-altering thought at a time.

Wanna join me?  Perhaps soon, we will smile in our livers.