La Bonne Vie Parisienne, Adapted

Paris markets

Day 149

Every cultural has wisdom to offer. The takeaway from France will be how the French enjoy life as it unfolds. As North Americans we tend to have our heads down most of the year, packing in school, work, extracurricular activities, sports, tutoring, music lessons. We work toward those pockets of vacation and holidays that dot our calendar. The French see it differently. While they still look forward to those weeks off in the summer, they make pockets of time to look forward to daily, an espresso in the morning, lunch in a cafe, a late leisurely dinner, and perhaps some late drinks with friends. Most Americans would call that retirement.

 

There is a French saying, “The best is the enemy of the good.” This means that if you are waiting for the elusive “best” to arrive, you are diminishing  your ability to enjoy the good you already have.

Paris

The North American interpretation of carpe diem has more of a push to it; be more, do more, get more. If you aren’t doing something productive, it may be seen as being unmotivated or even lazy. If you’re not working to move closer to the American dream, you’re getting further from it.

Paris

The French interpretation of carpe diem is; sit down, take a moment, savor a great plate or food and a glass of wine, enjoy a coffee and conversation with your friends, this day may be all you have.

Paris markets

These are the top 7 life enhancers for Parisians that I’ve observed.

Build in a routine of enjoying life everyday in some way.
Slow down during part of your day.
Sleep more. French people on average sleep 9 hours.
Spend time when you eat, both enjoying the food and the people you’re eating with.
Savor the simple things, even the staples like coffee, wine, fresh bread, and cheese.
Spend unhurried time with loved ones. Just be with them. Talk, listen, enjoy each other.
Have a dog, take it everywhere. Even people without a bed to sleep in often have dogs.

Coming from a culture where being driven is highly praised, lack of productivity  frowned upon, and where the pursuit of the American Dream is almost religion,  the French mindset is a stretch. But for me, there are elements of this lifestyle I would like to adopt, adapt, and keep as my own.

Paris bakeries

Firstly, how we eat. The French spend over two hours a day eating. With our current schedules, I don’t see that adjustment happening anytime soon. But what could happen is having meals as a family more often that are less  shovel food in mouth, my sister is so annoying, how many more minutes until this is over and I can check my texts. When we sit down for special meals like on holidays and birthdays, we block out hours to sit and enjoy each other, we sit for hours talking and laughing. I’d like to have meals more often that are somewhere between the two. Perhaps have a meal once or twice a week where we have a committed hour to eat together. No one is rushing off. Give it your undivided attention like you would a practice or a class, but instead it’s a committed time to our family.

blue cafe tables

Secondly, attention. The French are good at paying attention. They give more weight to appreciating the daily simple things. When drinking a coffee, pay attention to it, appreciate it for a moment rather than only seeing it as a caffeine delivery system. When eating bread, buy it fresh and enjoy its smell, its texture. This doesn’t only apply to food, also to the way they interact with each other. Undivided attention is always the best gift you can give to another person, especially children. I see it everyday in the cafes, people giving focused, undivided attention to each other. They aren’t rushing, they are giving their time, they are present, really listening.

These are two of the many lessons I’ve learned here, simple yes, but one’s I’ll take with me.

Paris