unbelievable

i woke up slowly today, lying in my bed and looking out the window. i didn't have yoga for two hours and i thought some bed-time was in order. i read for awhile; i'm reading "eat, pray, love" for the second time. i made tea. i took a long walk to work, stopping in a boutique on fourteenth to buy some beaded earrings to wear to the party tonight.

when i got home i had an email from my mom. "elizabeth gilbert will be in dc at three o'clock on saturday." it was 2:40. i threw my laptop on the couch, grabbed a jacket, grabbed my copy of the book still on my bedstand from the morning, and went running to u street (literally sprinting) to hop into a cab. when i got to the bookstore there were a couple hundred people there but i was able to sit crosslegged in the very front since everyone else was in chairs. i can't explain how happy and bewildered i was to be there. the other day i was looking at her website which has a large photograph of her, barefaced with open eyes, and i thought, wow i'd really like to know her, or just sit across from her. and here i was sitting across from elizabeth gilbert who was as barefaced and open-eyed and absolutely beautiful as i'd imagined while reading her travel tales. i felt like a ten-year-old who was sitting across from justin timberlake.

she told this story:
in the midst of her divorce she was standing inside a post office in new york, her face pressed up against the cold marble, utterly exhausted from all of the pain she was going through. she made a bargain with herself - "liz, if you can find just one beautiful thing in this city today, you are allowed to go home and throw yourself on the couch and fall apart." she stepped outside of the post office, ready to conquer this obstacle, and there were four elephants walking down 8th avenue covered in sequins with show girls standing atop. they were heading to the circus at madison square garden.

she spoke of our insatiable appetite for the "quest" and how important that quest is inside of your heart and while traveling through the world. she talked about the little omens she receives everyday and how important those are to her. she spoke of how important it is to listen to every little movement in your heart and to follow that.

i am so grateful for this day.