A “Hopeful” spin on Eat, Pray, Love

By Sarah Green

January 25, 2012

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I began to think about some wonderful people I know who are not currently in a romantic relationship.  Often, “single” people receive a lot of pressure from parents, friends, and even society in general, to be in a relationship.  This can often leave a “single” person feeling “less than”, or unsatisfied in life.  Here are a few thoughts I offer to the single person, during this season of hyped-up, glorified romantic themes.

While I don’t agree with all of the messages that the movie, “Eat, Pray, Love” provides, I loved and was inspired by some of the imagery I discovered as I watched Julia Roberts (masterfully, I might add) move through the different places and phases of the movie.  I propose we can draw from this imagery, and as a single person, ask some powerful questions…

Eat

What can I do to put more “spice” into my life?  Meaning, how can I view the things in my life as not just “eating” to survive, but actually relishing in what I am experiencing?  How can I slow myself down and take in the “flavor” of life that I am experiencing?  What passions do I have that I can pursue, unhindered?  Where have I believed the lie that “I can’t enjoy this life unless I am in a relationship”? 

Pray

How can I connect in my relationship with God?  Where can I go to experience His beauty, and let His “artwork” fill my spirit with wonder?  What can I listen to that will move me and inspire me?  Where can I go to find that quiet place of rest and peace?  And what is stopping me from these connections?

Love

How can I make the most out of the relationships I already have?  What can I do to enjoy the people in my life?  What relationships have I overlooked, in my business of life, or in my pursuit of “romance”?  What needs do I have that I can meet through the relationships I already have?  And how can I pour love into others, and in doing so, fill my own “love cup”?

I said at the beginning that this is an article directed at single people during this sometimes sad and disappointing season.  I would like to propose that these are lessons and questions we can all ask ourselves – whatever stage of life we are in – single, married, or divorced.  Eat, pray, love, and enjoy live the life you have to the fullest.