Celebrating 10 years of publication: Moving Forward, Keep Moving Forward

introduction
Or how this book is structured
Or the 109th bead

Part 1 Italy
Or “speak like you eat”
Or thirty-six stories about the pursuit of pleasure

Part 2
Or “Congratulations on meeting you”
Or thirty-six stories about the pursuit of faith.

Part 3 Indonesia
Or “I feel weird even in my panties”
Or thirty-six stories about the pursuit of balance.

Acknowledgements

A three-color journey into an unfamiliar world in search of the true self (I).
Desire, spirituality and love discovered in Italy, India and Indonesia!

So, I stopped worrying about where to go—Italy? India? Indonesia?—and finally accepted the fact that I wanted to travel to all three countries.
4 months in each country, totaling 1 year.
Of course, this was a slightly more ambitious dream than 'I want you to buy me a new pencil case.'
But that's what I wanted.
I also wanted to write about this trip.
That doesn't mean I want to explore each country thoroughly.
Because other people have already done it.
Rather, I wanted to thoroughly explore my inner qualities associated with each country.
Each country has traditionally excelled in one field.
In Italy, I wanted to explore the art of pleasure, in India, the art of serving God, and in Indonesia, the art of finding a balance between the two.
It was only after I acknowledged this dream that I discovered that all of these countries begin with the letter 'I'.
Could this be an auspicious sign suggesting a journey of self-exploration?
-In the text

"I want to fulfill my every wish, no matter how small! I want to learn Italian!"

Liz Gilbert is a successful writer with a caring husband and a beautiful home.
Her life, which is the envy of no one, would certainly be an object of envy to some and seem like an ideal life.
But Liz's life is neither smooth nor happy.
She becomes increasingly devastated, suffering from an unexplained anxiety and endless depression.
Then one day, as if by revelation from God, he comes to a realization.
“Live your life, find your real life!” Liz Gilbert, despite everyone’s warnings, boldly and suddenly abandons everything: her sham marriage, the New York social scene overflowing with champagne and fake smiles, and a life spent being dragged around by men but obsessed with love.
She loses all her assets in a lengthy divorce lawsuit, and is hurt by a lover she impulsively met to ease her loneliness, but she intuitively senses that this is the moment in her life when she must "leave."

For 34 years, Liz Gilbert, who had lived her entire life taking for granted the 'life as a woman' that had been determined by others, finally had 'a question of her own' that she had to find the answer to herself.
First, she wants to recover her own desires and pleasures that she had to suppress and eliminate while worrying about what others thought.
She heads to Italy to learn Italian, a language she had always longed for but never learned because she felt it was not helpful in her life, and to regain her appetite, which she had to suppress to maintain her slim figure of "size zero (0)".
A small but sincere desire to learn Italian was the first courageous step toward a life where I didn't have to worry about the calories in a slice of pizza.


Being honest about our desires and pleasures is the minimum we need to achieve in order to have a healthy body and a sound mind.
Having come face to face with his true desires, which he had lost while living in the harsh New York City, Gilbert now sets out for India to regain his spirituality and faith.


“God, please show me everything I need to know about forgiveness and surrender.”

Italy and India are two completely different worlds.
A world where words don't make sense and where there is no understanding at all.
Liz Gilbert thinks as she sits in a taxi, noisily speeding down the unpaved road.
Now Italy feels infinitely far away, as if I had stayed here in the ashram in India all along.
For her, who had been practicing spiritual disciplines, her new life in India felt both familiar and unfamiliar.
Yoga and meditation, the teachings of the guru… everything seems to be the same as it always was, not much different from what I had hoped and expected in faraway New York.
But as each day passes, Liz discovers cracks within herself that she had previously been unaware of.
Liz, who thought she had found peace of mind and was now free from the sorrows and pains of the past, realizes that her judgments are actually just another form of obsession, and she pushes herself harder, sometimes running away in fear.

It was at that time that he discovered the true meaning of meditation and training, which he had previously regarded as a means rather than an end, through his spiritual encounter with Richard from Texas and his mentor Swamiji.
Only then does she experience true ecstasy and let go of the painful memories and past loves that had been held back by obsession and stubbornness.
Ultimately, we realize that restoring faith is not about going to God and appealing to Him, but about facing our true selves and believing fervently in them.


“Sadness, it’s okay now.
I love you, I accept you.
“It’s all over now.”

In fact, this bold decision, this whole journey, started in Bali, Indonesia.
The shaman Ktut Lier, whom Liz had the fateful opportunity to meet in Bali while on a reporting trip several years ago, told Liz, “You will soon lose all your wealth, but you will soon get it back.” He also said, “You will soon return to Bali.
You must come back.
I will be staying in Bali for three or four months.
He tells a mysterious story: “You will be my friend.”
In the end, Liz, who returned to Bali penniless as predicted by Kkutta, finally reunites with him.
She decides to teach English to the older man and learn the wisdom of life, and she feels that she has finally recovered, and regained a kind of balance, for the first time in a long time.
Now, determined never to lose complete peace and a healthy mind and body again, she devotes herself to yoga and meditation, but Kkutteun tells Liz that this is not the only answer.

At that moment, as if by a twist of fate, a charming Brazilian man named Felipe comes into Liz's life.
Liz is once again tormented by the thought that her life is being swayed by love and men, but she cannot control her feelings for Felipe.
Then, with the advice of her quirky but wise folk healer, Wayan, Liz realizes that sometimes it's necessary to boldly break the current balance in order to achieve a new balance in life.
Having suffered so much because of love, should she shun it forever? Should she, out of fear of being hurt, seek only balance in life, like someone trapped? Finally, Liz sets out with Felipe for the remote island of Bali, where she found peace during her most difficult time.
What could she possibly say to Felipe? The cheers of Liz Gilbert, who has achieved a more solid and greater balance, ring in my ears.