Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert.
Courtesy photo

By Emily Henderson

You keep hearing it all around you. “We live in turbulent times;” “We live in frightening times;” “It is a scary time right now in the world.” All of that noise is sweeping around your head, a buzzing that you can not get out of your ear, always whispering, “Remember me? Thinking about me?” It feels as if there is no way to stop it. That is when she walks into the auditorium.

The Karen and Richard Carpenter Center, located on the campus of California State University of Long Beach, held the opening of their 2026-27 theatrical season on Sept. 19, with one of their cherished continuing series,Wit & Wisdom, all “designed to [make the audience] think and laugh,” says Executive Director Megan Kline. The guest? Award winning author and journalist Elizabeth Gilbert.

Best known for her 2006 memoir “Eat, Pray, Love” all about her spiritual and mental journey throughout India, Italy, and Indonesia, after the divorce of her first husband, Gilbert has since gone on to make a name for herself as a prolific writer. The book skyrocketed to international success immediately, landing itself number one on the New York Times Bestseller List for 187 weeks. In 2010, a movie adaptation of Gilbert’s memoir was released, starring Julia Roberts.

Since then, Gilbert has written five books, along with countless essays and blog posts on her Substack, “Letters from Love,” in which herself and other authors write personal narratives from the perspective of unconditional love, on all types of advice.

She has been involved in numerous inspirational tours, including Oprah’s 2016 “The Life You Want” tour, along with her own TedTalk in 2009, all about a person’s “elusive creative genius.” But now, she has taken her tour all the way to Long Beach.

In the midst of the loudness that permeates every fiber of our being, an avenue that the western capitalist society we all live in specifically hones in on is the idea of each person having one specific niche that will ultimately change everyone and everything around us. Sounds easy, right? Gilbert despises this notion, starting her speech talking about how this mindset is “inhumane,” and “spiritually arrogant.”

Gilbert emphasizes that this causes “purpose anxiety” the concept that thinking every individual has one unique ambition causes unneeded stress in an already stressful place. She emphasizes the need to ultimately reject this ideology, and focus on being present in the moment. That is the key to life on Earth.

She gives the example of what her everyday life is like. Where when she can, Gilbert will block out time out of her busy schedule to just “be.” Most of the time, she plays a game with herself called “Most Interesting Path,” in which you are out and about, you let your mind wander, curiosity runs rampant, and then, well, find the most interesting path.

Gilbert participated in this exercise 10-15 years ago, when she was in Santa Monica. She walked out of the building she was staying in, and just kept walking, traversing wherever her imagination took her. It led her to more mundane activities, like looking through a pet shop window at a ferret. But, it also led her to what could have been her destiny.

Gilbert grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Waterbury, Connecticut. A lot of her life was, as she says, “spent holding ladders,” for a father who did, truly, whatever he wanted. So, when Gilbert was on her free-floating escapade, she witnessed something that brought her back to her childhood. Gilbert says she has a “sixth sense” for unsteady ladders, and upon turning a corner, she witnessed a man painting a storefront with none other than an unsteady ladder. Gilbert knew what she had to do. She walked over to the ladder. And held it. For 45 minutes. With the painter not knowing she was there.

Some might call this “a waste of time.” We live in a world where time is money; of the essence; etc. There is no way we can stop for 45 minutes and hold a ladder. It is all about the go, go, go. But is that not the issue at large? Are we so rushed about the future that we forget to look at what is right in front of us? Helping others in need?

Gilbert takes it even a step further, where she goes on to ponder “What if that was her entire purpose?” What if somewhere in the cosmic wilderness, the grand makers of her life decided that as this date and time, she needed to help the painter on the ladder? And everything else was just, whatever? The pressure comes off. We can all finally take a breathe.

With Gilbert, it is always about coming back to the present. Staying true to the moment, while still understanding your own emotions and beliefs. The author proliferates another example, explaining a time around three years ago, when her book was “cancelled.”

During the lockdown of 2020, Gilbert set off on writing a novel of a story she had been wanting to tell for years. Based on the real tale of a family who hid away from the world in the barren Serbian wilderness, Gilbert fictionalized this, adding her own feelings of pandemic isolation. The book was set to release in June of 2023.

But, backlash from Ukrainians under Russian siege felt that the book glamorized Russia during a time where the focus should be put on their hurt.

Gilbert was in London doing press for the tour when the deluge started, her editor asking her if she had “seen Twitter today.” “Never have anyone ask you that,” joked Gilbert. She then quickly goes onto a Zoom call with her publishing and marketing team. They are all freaking out, wondering if they should pull the release or not. So is Gilbert.

But, a moment of understanding comes through to the author, through all of her years of spiritual practices. A moment of clarity. She understands that she cannot go forward with any decisions as of right now. About her psychosomatic attack, Gilbert calmly states, “I have no access to wisdom.” So, she grounds herself in the present, and steps away for a bit.

The novelist eventually checks Twitter, a scary thought to every person, not even those undergoing a panic attack. But, the author knew exactly what to do. Gilbert took a step back, and recentered herself using her favorite mindfulness technique. She asked herself questions about her beliefs in the moment, and flipped the conversation inside of herself, on its head.

She realized that Ukrainians themselves were under attack by the forces of Russia, and that their fear and anger were coming out towards her, as a way to help themselves. An understanding, a reaching out. Gilbert knew what to do.

Gilbert steps back into the Zoom, a clear head guiding her. She understands that the book needs to be held off from release. Her team is flabbergasted, but Gilbert keeps a strong command. “The calmest person in the room has the most power,” she professes. Gilbert and her team create a statement, sent on all social media platforms. The message is simple: “I understand. Thank you for letting me know. I will work on a new book next week.”

What worked is that Gilbert is here, centering herself in the present. Being in the moment is the greatest gift in the world. Do not worry about the future, because right now will count for later on.

Elizabeth Gilbert lives and breathes the moment she is in, and now she wants to profess that to everyone else. And on one late summer night in Long Beach, a crowd in a theatre learned just what it meant to be present. And the world got a little bit quieter.