Julie and Julia

I just saw Julie and Julia this weekend ( I know, it takes us a while...) and I really enjoyed it. I've heard from others that they loved Julia but didn't care for Julie. I was no different. Why is that?

Sure, Meryl Streep is an actress at the top of her field and portrayed Julia so well. But, Amy Adams is also a good actress who portrayed her character well ( the little I know of her in real life).

For me, the big difference in feeling about the characters has less to do with the actors and more to do with the people they played. Julia is bubbly, joyful, abundant, clear, passionate. She is true to herself and stopped caring what others think early in her life. She loves her husband Paul with a passion and still loves herself enough to go for what she wanted in life.

Julie is portrayed as someone who complains, suffers, is victimized, is lost and confused. She is never satisfied with herself or her husband. She makes goals but gets lost in them. The journey is not fun for her. It becomes a burden that must always be validated and approved. She worships Julia as her savior and becomes little obsessed.


No wonder everyone prefers Julia! Julia represents our HigherSelves. She embodies the qualities that we aspire to- she is forever optimistic, honest, loyal, true, and never runs from the obstacles put in her way. She is forever faithful to herself and her knowing that it's all fine the way it is-even in dire circumstances.

Julie represents our egos. She embodies our tendency to see the trouble in things, the pressures that we create, the dependence we have on others for approval or validation, and our focus on the outside to dictate the inside.

Eventually, Julie triumphs but not without a whole lot of trouble. Julia has fun in her work and everything corresponds to that- her husband hangs out with her in the kitchen, fellow chefs find her and seek her out, a friend helps her find a publisher for her cookbook.

We don't want to think of Julie because she reminds us (or maybe just me)of that part of myself (the egoic part) that I buy into when things are going "badly" or "too well".

But, it is good that she is there. She highlights the Julia in us and when Julie does finally get what she wants, it is only because she shifts into Julia mode- she starts to enjoy the ride!


Are you Julia or Julie right now? Clear or confused, focused or scattered, confident and calm or worried? Watch Julia and Julie and get inspired to shift into Julia mode.