Don’t watch this. Okay, watch it. But, seriously, don’t blame me if the trailer of this movie makes you want to jump off a cliff while simultaneously feeling so uplifted and happy that it confuses all your emotions and then you sit there thinking, “I kind of want to die, but I also want to live so I can have THIS EXACT LIFE THAT GODDAMN ELIZABETH GILBERT HAS MINUS THE HEARTBREAK BUT YES PLEASE JAVIER BARDEM AND YES PLEASE JAMES FRANCO AND YES PLEASE JULIA ROBERTS PLAY ME IN A MOVIE EXCEPT THAT WOULDN’T MAKE SENSE BECAUSE I DON’T LOOK LIKE HER BUT STILL THAT’S NOT THE POINT.” Wait, what is the point?
Just. WATCH THIS.
Are you still reading? Did that massive CAPS lock seizure turn you off? Are you crying in a corner because you’re not Elizabeth Gilbert? If any of those things happened, I’M SORRY.
That trailer gives me the jealousies and puts this fire in my stomach that is NOT spicy food, but is the fire you get when you want something so bad you can taste it, but also want to stop wanting it so much, because, shit, what if it doesn’t happen?
This is how I’ve been feeling lately. That whole, what if it doesn’t happen thing? Then, I get scared because it’s like I’m just TELLING the Universe to not have it happen for me, because of my massive amounts of self-doubt that only pile up further when I watch trailers like the one for Eat, Pray, Love. Like, that trailer makes me crazypants. It makes me cry and it makes me want to listen to Florence + The Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over” on repeat. Yes, that’s the song in the trailer. Yes, I will go back and link you to the YouTube video of that song so you can listen to it on repeat as well. Yes, I knew you wanted it. Yes, I understand. Yes, let’s go jump off cliffs together because our ambition is ruining our lives. Yes. Yes. Yes.
For serious though. When I think about writing a book and said book being turned into a movie, it’s almost like I black out a little. The entire world falls away and the intensity in which I want that becomes so heightened that sometimes it’s hard to even function. Do you know what this is like? Do you get me? Am I just weird?
Because. It’s just. Ah. It’s. You know. It’s like you want something so badly that it becomes a part of every single second of your day and you want it so badly that you feel like you’re walking this very thin tightrope without a net below you. Like, you’re so vulnerable and so empowered and so on fire that it’s frightening, but, I mean, what else are you going to do? Stop wanting it? Er, pretend to stop wanting it? Stop wanting something because you want it so bad that the worry of potential disappointment is stronger than the hope of potential success?
I mean, what the hell do you do?
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
What do you do? YOU WRITE A BOOK AND TURN IT INTO A MOVIE.
I’ll play you in the movie. Except, no, because I’ll be traveling with you and I’ll be part of the story (EW WE’RE SO IN LOVE) so someone has to play both of us because, well, yeah. I pick Zooey Deschanel to play me.
WHAT? SHE’S HOT.
I choose Cali from Grey’s Anatomy to play me.
Or, Queen Latifah. WHAT!
Dude. DUDE. You know who I choose to play you?
Wait for it…
MO’NIQUE
Florence & The Machines is amazing FYI (the ENTIRE album)
And thank you for posting that trailer! I didn’t know they were making that movie. I read Eat, Pray, Love, and I totally am on that “WHAT IF I DON’T GET TO DO THAT” mode. How do you just pick up your entire life and just GO?
GAH! I love their entire album, but that song kills in the Eat, Pray, Love trailer.
I’ve done it twice. It’s actually one of the easiest things I’ve ever done.
I mean, yeah, I did just cry at that trailer.
The other thing is, lover? YOU’RE GONNA DO IT. I know you. I got a little glimpse of this drive last night and I know, without a doubt, that soon, I’ll be all, “Oh, yeah..Jamie? Yeah, I’ve eaten pizza in her apartment before and I visited her in Rome and we were ridiculous. It’s in Chapter 7.”
So much love.
This just made my day. fld;kgjdfglkjdfglkjdfg
LOVE.
WHAT NICOLE SAID.
Also, I’ll be traveling with you too whether you like it or not because I want to be in Italy eating all the pizza and gelato and making out with all the tall dark and handsome men. And I don’t know who will play me but I hope it’s someone hot and sexy but not a porn star because that would be weird. Or awesome. Wait, we’re not making a porno. At least not right now (muahahaha).
The moral of this story for me after I first finished the book was that you have to hit rock bottom before you can truly live and enjoy and thrive. But why does that have to be true? Things don’t need to be completely and utterly awful for us to make changes in our life. We can make them now. So yeah. I’m all in. I can leave September 1st. Where’s the first stop? I vote Argentina.
Not a porno…. YET!
Oh wait, hi mom? Awkwarddddd.
September 1st sounds pretty damn killer. Argentina? They party till 7am there. YES, PLEASE.
Oops! Sorry, Mom! When I said porno I meant Disney movie!
We’re going to need to build up our stamina for that. But, YES!!
Yes. Just…yes.
I am determined to write a book this year. You should too. I will encourage you with emails that say ARE YOU WRITING? YOU SHOULD BE WRITING. PUT THAT TEQUILA DOWN OR I WILL COME OVER THERE AND MAKE YOU PUT IT DOWN SO YOU CAN BE WRITING.
Wait, is that encouraging or obnoxious? EITHER WAY.
You do it.
Twice.
Because the Elizabeth Gilbert’s of this world wanted to vomit too before it happened, but they did it anyway, even when people said they couldn’t. And then the JK Rowlings of this world look at their lives as they exist in this very moment and wonder why they were ever so scared.
Take over the world.
Just remember the little tykes when you’re way up there…
Awesome post.
You might remember, we chatted a little on Flickr while you were still in Italy and I shared a little bit of my story with you. You’re not weird. Or maybe I’m just as weird as you are, for having this same/similar feeling.
The worry what paralyzes people and causes the feeling like we’re stuck in the middle. But really, we don’t know what will happen if we go for something OR if we don’t, so we fear the unknown either way. We think too much.
Your experience while taking off to Italy and living there, and you writing your book, are ultimately the same thing. Taking a risk. You’ve done it before, just differently.
What the hell do you do..? I don’t know for sure… But I, personally, freak out, pace, scribble odd doodles, waste time and gas driving to random places or stare into space, meanwhile thinking over every possible negative detail of what could happen if I go for it and what could happen if I don’t. This may happen for days or months. Who knows. And then I stop thinking, and try it. Just do it.
That’s all I can do.
What do I have to lose? What’s the worst that could happen? I’m still alive here to write this comment today and realize how nice it is that I’m not the only one who feels a little crazy sometimes. (Though it would be AWESOME if no one had to feel this crazy at all!)
And I just read this today, you might like it: http://blog.onething.com/post/475080865/amber-rae-lambke-my-one-thing-is
I say go for it. Enjoy the ride, feed the fire, and set some shit on fire. If you want it this bad, you know you’ll give it your all.
Whatever you do, don’t do the following:
1) Get a dog.
2) Buy a house.
3) Decide to settle.
I did the first two and now… I just want to run like hell. I want to live in Italy and don’t know quite how I will make that happen.
Now I have a book to read and a movie to be excited about.
Why not run? What is holding you back?
I get this SAME feeling. Only I get it when I watch How To Train Your Dragon.
Ah, ah, ah! I just feel the same way. I’ve been reawtching that trailer and feeling the burning in the pit of my stomach. Dammit Elizabeth Gilbert.
It’s hard to articulate, but I can say: I feel you, agreed and thanks for writing this
You start making it happen, that’s what you do. If you really, really, REALLY want something bad enough – take baby steps to achieving it. I know, not as exciting or as a dramatic as a huge leap, but it’s a start. And you have to start somewhere. So start on page 1.
It’s been my experience that anything worth something in life has an element of fear tied to it. But you conquer the fear to reap the reward.
Seriously, who wouldn’t want to quit their life and travel the world? Such a glorious escape! Although, despite the fact that it may not be a realistic (or necessarily financially smart) dream for everyone, there are ways to make almost any dream a reality. But you still have to start on page 1.
You can find lots of excuses in life to hold yourself back from doing what’s in your heart. And we can do a good job at convincing ourselves that we don’t want certain things, to pretend they matter less than. Sadly, we delay our happiness. But if you wait too long for the perfect moment, the perfect moment will pass you by.
I’m going to New Zealand this year. A trip I’ve been saying I’ll take for years, but never do. No more excuses. No more waiting. I’m no longer holding out for the perfect moment. There’s no point in waiting for tomorrow when today is already here.
(If that was too serious of a comment, then I’ll just leave you with two words – vagina and vodka. Those two words seem to the perfect comment to leave on just about any post writen by you or Nicole write.)
I think “I” was drinking vodka at the end of my comment. I meant to say…
Those two words seem to be the perfect comment to leave on just about any post writen by you or Nicole.
Don’t worry, you get lots of chances, and the older you get the easier it gets, so long as you haven’t made too many investments along the way. But if you haven’t made any, then you get no chances at all. You eventually won’t be able to tell if the wanting just disappeared or if you’d taken the leap when you weren’t looking or if the whole world just got what it truly wished for and took you along for the ride. The sex only gets better and the porn gets boring, that’s the only certain part. Sorry to destroy the anticipation. It’s my job.
I’m all for jumping off cliffs.*
*With parachutes. And while screaming, a lot.
One of the best books I’ve read in a LONG time. I have it on my list to read this summer again.
If something makes you afraid, if you doubt you can do it… PWN it. That’s right. DO it with all you’ve got. Write the book. Even if you don’t pack up and go somewhere exotic, do what you KNOW your soul craves. I used to have these overwhelming emotions some things in my own life and one reason the feelings were so intense was that I was doubting I could do them. Once I just basically told myself to shut the fuck, I moved to a new city and started grad school and had a nervous breakdown and hit rock bottom and somehow… I can back and started feeding my soul with what it needed. And now here I am mostly sane and mostly happy.
You have people who will support you. Once you take the first leap, everything else is easier from there.
I also think that ultimately while she went to three places to eat, love and pray… in the end, she had to find that joy inside herself. We can travel the world seeking happiness, but we will never find it if we cannot be happy in our skin in the most most mundane of moments. It is TOUGH at times to stop the self-doubt and let go of our fears so we can be happy. But it is POSSIBLE. I think that first step to self-love and fearlessness IS the jump off the cliff. Knowing you CAN do this IS a leap.
And guess what… YOU FUCKING CAN WRITE A BOOK. Because you’re fucking awesome.
Also… I am a bit of a blog lurker and rarely comment. I felt this deserved a comment.
This post and the comments were (unintentionally?) inspiring. I’ve made some decisions for my future that I keep grappling with and the bottom line is that I can do them because it’s what I want to do. This has helped me get past some insecurities I’ve been having about that.
Also, I would never have guessed you struggled with insecurities. You seem so full-force awesome and confident that I thought you’d escaped that. I guess none of us really do.
No, I am not crying.
Ok, yes. Yes, I am. Damn you Ms. Gilbert. (AND THANK YOU JAMIE for making me all excited and restless and wanderlusty and OH MY GOD WHEN AM I GOING?)
When I saw the line-up for this movie I thought, she’s divorcing THIS GUY!?!
but seriously, I am so so so excited for this movie! love love love eat, pray, love!!
ah, my talented blogging friend. doubt. that evil spirit standing by your side wherever you go. some people call it our shadow. anyway. let shakespeare guide you (a fair writer himself who was constantly doubt ridden – or so all his friends told me).
“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt”
“Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise. “
next. writing a book is daunting. to anyone. writing chapters are less daunting. if you focus on the chapters and not worry about one chapter versus another and let them get to the finish line whenever they feel like they should get there (and trust me .. some are the tortoise and some are the hare) … well … before you know it the chapters become a book.
plus. remember. the book is a fun idea not work. have fun.
ooh i loved that book! i can’t wait to see the movie AND to read Committed!
you do whatever tugs at your soul…and you start NOW. Everyone will have an opinion and smartass things to say but that’s when you use all that as drive. Look at it like man, I only have this much time to LIVE so what the fuck am I waiting for?..AND DO ITTTTTT! When it comes down to it, you’re the only one stopping yourself…and if that doesnt piss you off enough to get the ball rolling, I dont know what will.
It is about this “Face the Fear But Do It Anyway”!!!!
If you can feel it, taste it , see it, hold it, love it, then you are on your way. There is nothing here holding you back!!! It would be an incredible life experience! And it really sounds like THIS IS NOT AN OPTION.
I Love what Alex Wrote: So true Alex!!
We can travel the world seeking happiness, but we will never find it if we cannot be happy in our skin in the most most mundane of moments. It is TOUGH at times to stop the self-doubt and let go of our fears so we can be happy. But it is POSSIBLE. I think that first step to self-love and fearlessness IS the jump off the cliff. .
thats my first time seeing that trailer. now that i know its coming out i’ve gotta read the book!
I mean yeah, I’m watching this trailer. AGAIN.
Is this book really as good as everyone says it is? It kind of looked like one of those “Oprah’s book club” books that I usually avoid (yeah, I’m a snob). But watching this I was pretty excited about the “eat” part so I’ll give it a try if you other sane, non-midwestern-housewife-types say it’s worth it.
(wow I’m really not going to make any friends with this comment. sorry midwestern housewives.)
Jump off a cliff all Thema and Louise?
Sure!
Maybe they will make a movie out of that…oh yah they did that already. And Brad Pitt (the younger version not the old daddy with the kinky little braids in his beard Brad Pitt), can join us in the convertible!
whoot.
Oh yah, showing my age again…..
Darn it!
If you jump, please blog about it. At least I can live vicariously through you?
Oh and don’t you and Nicole live together? I mean, blogging on line like that, isn’t that like the married couple that are on facebook arguing about their sex life?
(actually that was quite funny to see…) oh well.
back to reality…..
Live. Because you know what? There’s no day but today.
That sounded so corny when I said it out loud, but I don’t care.
That aside, James Franco went to my high school and when he came back to visit, we hung out. He’s pretty chill. And really fucking hot.
I have those ‘What if I don’t get to do that’ moments often. I think if it wasn’t for my blog I’d really doubt my ability to get up and go. It has caused me to set deadlines and goals to work towards while motivating me that it is possible to complete because I see others doing it every day.
Glory Hole the movie would have to be animated because special effects aren’t capable of creating some of the scenes that would probably be necessary.
Here’s the thing: at least you have something that is causing you to have that feeling in your stomach. I don’t think a lot of us have that sort of burning desire or passion. I know I’m desperately trying to find that thing that makes me crazy and worried and excited and all that other shit that makes you happy and sick at the same time. Like you said, it’s scary to want something… but at least you WANT something, right? And if you really, truly want it, you’ll do it.
I am reading ‘Commited’ and was thinking about how they should really make a movie about Gilbert. I’m so so so so so jealous of her. I’ve been talking to people about how I might live her life more easily. Never related to a writer more.
I’m hyperventilating. Not really. But if my nose wasn’t stuffed from allergies I would be. I just had a relationship end, no kidding six days ago and I now have a boy flying down for a wedding date situation in a few weeks. Um shit. I think I need to read this book again. Love. Elizabeth. Gilbert. Forever.
Do you know how many people have asked me if I’ve read Eat Pray Love when I tell them my plans for next year to travel for 6 months to a year? Yes, I loved the book, and thought “Wow, I wish I could do that!” when I read it, never thinking I actually would. And in less than a year I’ll be on my way! I can’t wait to see the movie, it’ll just add more fuel to the fire. too have those burning jealousies, but they’re subsiding now that I’ve taken the first step to experience the life I’ve always wanted.
Nah, bitch, you just peein!