Living in France has opened my eyes to an artful way of living. It has shown me a depth of color in the celebration of seasons, layers of textured history, and that day to day life is like applying paint on a canvas, our actions and feelings are brush strokes to the greater story.
As in Renoir's painting, I noticed the corner of his paintings, the scenes within the scene. Ah the reflection of light, the movement of the moment caught and held up as an example of passing time, brush strokes of the day to day life reflecting on that which is at hand, the beauty of the smallest details which are often overlooked.
Living an artful life: To put my habits and attitudes in my back pocket. To absorb that which is around me, let it soak in over time letting it recolor my days. To take an entire afternoon at a cafe with one glass of wine while watching the sun take its time to move over my head.
As I didn't speak French when I first arrived in France, I spent an endless amount of time listening. Though what I came to realize it wasn't just the words I was listening to. Listening for me had more to do with observing the unconscious language of the body. Most of the time I understood the conversation though could not repeat one word which had been spoken. Isn't it like that when we listen, we hear the heart which often speaks without uttering a word?
A girl by a window. Her dress, like the curtain in front of the window barely concealing what is inside. Her lips are closed, her regard…what is she thinking? That is how I started to learn French. Instead of asking myself, what are they saying? I started to look at them and wonder what are they thinking, or what are they feeling.
Have you ever noticed hands speak without measure? Words can be guarded, but hands and eyes speak the depth of feeling, the truth.
Often with nothing is being said, the hands and eyes keep on speaking.
Another thing I started to paid attention to was how others handled objects, how they used things. Their movements like a dance spoke of either hurriedness, a-quick-two-step and get the job done. Or they moved with a grace, a gentleness, an awareness of the things around them and if they were struggling with contained emotion, their actions could resemble the tango. Paying attention to how someone moved, how they set a table, how they ate their meal, how they carried themselves, made me more aware of my own actions and what message was I sending
.
Ah the importance, yes importance of setting the table, writing a note by hand, baking a cake, ironing the shirt, saying thank you, opening the door for another, letting someone go in front of us, the not eating the last cookie, the taking out the garbage, not jumping to conclusions, letting someone hog the blankets.
Those little things count, like many other things, speak volumes truly they color the world around us.
Layers upon layers, stories within stories, love mixed with odd bits that create an artist to mix, blend and stir with their brush strokes and colors. Or paint a picture that puts an experience in place. Day by day we are painting our lives, on each other's canvas.
What color are you today?
Tomorrow starts the first French Muse Experience of the year. I will be posting photos (also on my instagram) mostly that tell the story of exploring Provence and searching for antiques. I hope one day you will come to France, what a pleasure it will be to show you what I have come to love!
Note: Photos taken while at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris
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