Lost Book

Yesterday I posted about feeling under the weather again because of some things that reminded me of some memories that are better best forgotten. Since I've been feeling sad again, I have gone back to my certified sadness-buster and hope-restorer: re-reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. Long-time readers of my blog are witnesses to the great number of times I have waxed lyrical about this book and how it has helped me deal with a lot of issues I went through last year. One would only need to do a quick search of the book title in this blog's Search widget and you would see proof of how much I've gushed about it and the lessons I've learned from it. During idle moments I just pore over my copy and re-read random bits of it. My book looks old already, but I didn't care. If anything, I took more pride with it as I considered the creases on the spine as proof of how loved the book was.

Now let's continue with my story. As I have acknowledged in yesterday's post, there's always someone who snaps me back and reminds me life is wonderful and there's no sense being sad about things beyond my control. Yesterday my friends Mich and Jonas assumed that role. They were out looking for an apartment for Jonas so I went out and met them after work to take my mind off things for a while. We ate at Jollibee, where we exchanged amusing stories while eating - they even bought me a cup of Rocky Road Brownie Sundae for dessert. It certainly took my mind off things, to the extent that we were already halfway home when I realized I left my beloved book on the table :(

Today I went back there to check, but the service crew told me they don't have it. I can post here and complain about how they were unhelpful (when I asked one of the crew if they saw my book, she just looked at me and said "I'm sorry, I wasn't here yesterday." as if she couldn't ask one of her workmates and check whether my book was found while our table was getting cleared) but it won't bring me my book back. Maybe I just wasn't assertive enough.Or maybe someone did endorse it but they've already forgotten about it. Sigh.

I have a copy of the book in my Kindle app, but I really prefer my dog-eared old copy. I feel really sad, but letting the sadness consume me won't bring me even a page of my book back. I take comfort in the thought that it was found by someone - a "lost soul" who really needs it.

Also, as Ana pointed out, maybe I lost it because I don't need a "guide" anymore. I will be very happy if that is really the case, then ;)

I'll leave you now with some of my favorite quotes from the book ♥

"You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight." 

"But if you can plant yourself in stillness long enough, you will, in time, experience the truth that everything (both uncomfortable and lovely) does eventually pass." 

"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it." 

"Someday you're gonna look back on this moment of your life as such a sweet time of grieving. You'll see that you were in mourning and your heart was broken, but your life was changing..."