There is still romance about Paris.
Some people will try to tell you it isn’t what it used to be, that it isn’t worth visiting anymore, especially leading up to the Olympics, but I disagree. Just spend some time walking around Montmarte’s cobblestone streets. Take in the view and open your spirit. Pay attention to the details. You’ll feel it.
I brought a very full heart and renewed optimism back with me.
Even toward the usually more hectic city-centre in the Ier; the Louvre, the adjacent Tuileries, Notre Dame and the winding narrow streets around Shakespeare and Co. and the Abby Bookshop, you can find a quiet corner to escape into, people watch, sip a coffee at Odette, appreciate the beauty and dwell on the city’s monumental literary and artistic history.
Last week, I spent six days in Paris and have returned rewired. I am reminded that life is best lived slowly, with deliberate focus and an enjoyment for the simpler things. Less is more. Slow down and really see the world around you. Life will pass you by all the same…all the better to enjoy it with some admiration.
After spending even a short time outside of America, I feel a deep need to be less negative in my language as well. As Camus writes in his essay “Create Dangerously”:
But no magnificent work of art has ever been founded on hatred or contempt. That is why artists, as they reach the end of their personal journeys, give absolution instead of condemning.
I have long tried to frame my opinions with a positive vocabulary and reduce judgement, but as with many things in life, sometimes we slip and get away from certain practises. There is enough hostility in the world and I do not want to contribute to it. Speaking and writing are artforms which I want to ever be improving upon, not just for my sake, but to try and make my corner of the world and my interactions more conducive to productive conversation and analysis.
Speaking French was invigorating and the amount of people I met who spoke English with enthusiasm as always, excited me. The multilingual nature of Europe is something I adore. One morning at a cafe in Montmartre, French, English, Arabic and German were being spoken simultaneously under the same streetside canopy. It was music to my ears and is a reminder that we are not so different. I think about political fractures and religious wars and can’t help but be saddened by the lack of understanding so many come to develop as they are swayed by polarising media and narrowing perspectives that ensue.
It is considered pollyannish these days to believe in peace and I am not naïve to think a perfect world will ever come to pass, but it is in small moments like these on that chilly morning in Paris, my ears full of linguistic diversity, where I realise the potential of humanity to bond over our similarities and overcome division. Even if it just means a convivial conversation between two cafe-goers of differing cultural backgrounds.
Humanity is beautiful and everything that travel has to offer cannot be replaced by a book or documentary. You have to walk the streets, speak the language, brush shoulders with locals and pay attention to the details to be taught. I am charmed to be able to see the world beyond my own country and will always take these experiences to heart, ever-eager to bring new life lessons back home.
Part of living well is being keenly aware of others in the world. Leading a self-centred life is not conducive to true flourishing or happiness. Once you open yourself up to everything else far and wide; the myriad experiences you can enjoy, people you could meet, customs you could learn, food you could eat, and fresh perspectives, you begin to understand how rich the human existence can really be. Returning from Paris, this is first and foremost on my mind.
I meditate also on how changing your geography won’t fix your life. Even if you relocate, there is still the matter of finding work, navigating relationships, and the usual human concerns. However, I firmly believe some of us are built to exist in certain climes and thrive moreso in some environments than others. Each one brings with it new opportunities after all. Travelling can help you discover what’s important to you and what sort of lifestyle is most suitable to your ambitions.
Go far and wide if you’re able. Go See Paris. If nothing else while you’re there, sit at any café, sip espresso, eat bread, watch humanity buzz around you, and marvel at the fact that you’re alive at all to enjoy such a scene. Those little moments of sonder add up and make life incredibly vibrant.