Eat Pray Love - What Are You Searching For?

I watched Eat Pray Love today for the first time.

Originally incarnated as a book, written by Elizabeth Gilbert, I enjoyed it. If you haven't seen it, like me til today, you should try and catch it, though I know it won't be for everyone. Fans of Julia Roberts will adore it!

For me, the observations made in the movie about life, what we need, what fulfils us, what keeps us on our path and gives us a sense of purpose, all spoke to me deeply.

Never fully satisfied with life, I frustrate even myself.

Don't get me wrong. I love life. There are many things in my life I am grateful for. But I see room for improvement wherever I look.


However, I don't see myself running off to India to study under a spiritual Guru, or to Italy to eat my way through mountains of perfect pasta.

I feel like I'm searching for something. If I'm honest, I have to say I don't know what that something is. I have strong spiritual leanings, but I don't think I'm looking for God. I have been to Uni, emigrated and taken on many, varied, projects in my short time on this planet. But I still haven't found that something that fills the void.

All this would be fine, honestly it would, if the feeling of not being completely fulfilled wasn't accompanied by a mild panic. The panic comes from the sense of time "running out", and of me thinking I am in some way wasting my life. This sense has been with me for years.

I can't explain it. I can't forget it. It is always with me.

I'm in my early thirties. I know I have many years ahead of me. But years really don't mean much to me. I still recall vivid memories of when I was a baby and an infant. Therefore, projecting myself to a point where I am perhaps in my 70s, I can see myself looking back on "now" and thinking that it was "just like yesterday". Life will be gone in the blink of an eye.

That's scary!

And that's why it's so important to live life fully, consciously and find what fulfils you.

So what am I searching for? I don't have an answer. Well, nothing that makes any sense.

I had read an article a few months ago written by Steve Pavlina, on finding your purpose in life. Follow the link and read for yourself what he has to say. He suggests an exercise you can do yourself to help get you to a place where you can discover your purpose. None of my answers seem to be "real". Most seem like dialogue excerpts of a very wordy scene from Dawson's Creek or Grey's Anatomy, full of melodrama, faux poetry and heavy with emotive language.

If you try it, I would love to know if you get a "good" result. Otherwise, any tips for finding your purpose and engendering a sense of peace in life would be greatly appreciated.

What are any of us searching for?