Still in Paris

In This Bloutcher

• Still in Paris
• Announcements
  

In 1965 I spent 9 months in Paris, studying philosophy before heading to graduate school in Chicago. The French were still using newspaper for toilet paper back then and men wearing berets carrying their baguettes were everywhere. Today the baguettes remain but the berets have been replaced by scarves, even on hot summer evenings.

Back then I took a six week trip into southern France, across the great Valadolid plains of Spain into Portugal. Franco was still in power and silly pointed hats of the guardia civilia could be seen even in the remote towns. I drove a deux cheveau which means two horses because it purportedly had only two horsepower and sipped petrol at the rate of 60 miles a gallon. The deux cheveau had such an odd appearance that it made you think a Dr. Suess character would pop out any second. Of course, you could read a novel driving at full throttle up the hills and if you got into a head on with a Vespa you would lose for sure. One night I pulled over and slept in a field because the stars were as large as grapefruit and I had always wondered what it would be like to sleep under a night sky filled with grapefruit. Some of the grapefruit flared wildly and fell to the earth in flashes of brilliance and I mistook them for a moment for shooting stars. I felt the night coolness settle on my cheeks and fell asleep with all kinds of possibilities awaiting me.

On the drive back to Paris I kept wondering how the city had changed during my 6 week absence. And then I heard the winds of time whisper: Oh, but you have--how you have changed. I looked through the rear view mirror, trying to catch a glimpse of the wind, but only the road stretched back as far as I could see.

I am in Paris at this moment and except for the toilet paper and the scarves and a few other unimportant details, Paris remains Paris remains Paris. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. And what about me? Did the wind speak the truth? I like to think I would still pull over and sleep the night under the sky of grapefruit and fall asleep with all kinds of possibilities awaiting me. The other day Karen and I took our shoes and socks off in a lovely park in the 15th arrondissement and felt the moist earth energy under the grass and then we sat under a shady Linden tree and looked at the sky inspired by a Corot painting (left)--or is it the other way around, or maybe it was a Sisley sky (right) but it really doesn't matter since the sky hasn't changed either between their time and ours.

I think that when you are in your 20s and you are in Paris for the first time you are not able ever to leave--you are always still in Paris.

I remember during the return drive from Spain and Portugal refocusing on the road ahead and whispering half to myself, half to the unseen wind: We are not as timeless as Paris. We are here, perhaps we never leave even when we are gone and then something else happens. I have been back to Paris many times since that first time. I better understand some things now, and other things I understand less well. That's a kind of change. The wind was right. I have changed from the first time. Or am I perhaps the same in different ways?

Announcements:

• Check out the BIF-7 Innovation Summit. I am excited about being invited as one of the Summit's storytellers. Now in its 7th year, the Summit has been named by Mashable as one of the "7 places to see great minds at work." The Summit is magic. It's intimate. It's assumption blowing. It opens up windows to whole new worlds. You should consider being there. Learn more about BIF-7 by clicking here.
• I will be speaking at Fidelity Investments in October at a special client appreciation event. I will also be doing a special program for Rockland Trust, also in October, for those who are considering what comes next in their lives.
  
• I also want to put in a special plug for the program I am doing with Nancy Fernandez Mills at Esalen, November 13 through 18, at Big Sur in California. This is a magical place and the program which will be a special version of our Life Change Studio promises to be highly engaging, insight provoking and transformative. Consider giving yourself a unique gift and joining us for the program. For more information click here. Also check out a workshop my wife Karen is conducting at Esalen at the same time. The workshop titled Calling Calliope; Finding Your Poetic Voice. Not only is Karen a wonderful poet, she has a unique ability to put you in touch with parts of youself that you never knew were there. Check out her workshop by clicking here.