I've recently started reading Elizabeth Gilbert's "Committed". I really liked "Eat, Pray, Love" so I was curious to have a go at the sequel. A couple of chapters down the line, I can tell you that the book contains many interesting insights on marriage, as well as enriching descriptions of the author's experiences while travelling in Southeast Asia. I can also tell you that, so far, what I have enjoyed most was reading about the teenage Laotian monk, who received a love e-mail from Carla.
Gilbert was at an Internet cafe when a young monk sat down right beside her. Their closeness allowed her to glance at his computer screen and realise that he was reading a love letter from a girl named Carla. She immediately asked herself several questions about their relationship and, at some point, expressed excitement for what was happening to him.
While reading through it, what I couldn't stop thinking about was Carla and how brave she had been for sending that e-mail. I wondered how she must have felt just after clicking send; I wondered if she went through a rollercoaster of emotions while waiting for a reply; I wondered if she ever got one and if it mattered; I wondered if she had read Gilbert's book and realised that, sometimes, a lack of answer does not mean lack of affection - sometimes a monk just has to go and join other monks.
There was a time in which I would have risked sending an e-mail but not anymore. At this point in my life, there are words, which will remain unwritten. Unsent. Unread. Unanswered. And, as Gabrielle put it best, "I know I will be ok" for
"in my reach
I can see
there's a life out there for me."
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