I have lived in and visited Paris several times, and my conclusion is this;
Paris is a city for the senses. It is filled with seductive visual, auditory, textural, culinary experiences at every turn.
You don’t happen to Paris. Paris and all the sensory splendor it holds happens to you.
The task each time I come here is not to conquer the city or feel obliged to see it all. The task is to revel in its spirit of sensual celebration.
It is a place that invites all residents and visitors to take part in the beauty of life.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not naive to its big city qualms and underlying unpleasantries. At any moment you will be walking through the scent of honeysuckle, only to get sucker punched in the face with cigarette smoke or the intense smell of urine. But I maintain, this grit is a part of its old world charm.
Ah Paris. Can’t help but delight in the city of light, with its definite shades of darkness.
As a child raised in the Calvinist tradition of Christianity, this act of delighting or enjoying oneself and the world we inhabit was downright blasphemous.
But as I feel the divine pleasure of being in a city designed to appreciate life, I believe with every fiber of my being, this divine presence, she wants us to enjoy ourselves.
Yoga brings us into more intense contact with our senses. As we learn to slow down, breathe deeply and savour the moment, by extension our receptiveness to pleasure is heightened. Of course this works in the opposite direction. One can fixate upon the heightened awareness of pain. This is where the discipline of gratitude keeps the mind from veering into dark corners.
Keep looking to the light and it will warm your physical, mental and emotional existence. A mental discipline that gets a bit easier with consistent practice. Pain does not stop. But this pleasure and light centered focus makes it a bit more manageable.
Unfortunately for many of us raised within a Western, usually conservative tradition, our relationship with pleasure is fraught with the trained reactions of shame and guilt.
I say trained, because no child feels shame when discovering the capacity for pleasure their complex, marvelous body holds. That shit is taught to us.
Our natural capacity to receive the carnal goodness of life is something many of us spend a great deal of time finding our way back to.
We are created to receive good and luscious things. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.
Let beauty and enjoyment, be it the simplicity of everyday loveliness or exciting travels abroad, lead you deep into the alluring wonders of life.
Whether you’re in Paris, France or Paris, Ontario – it awaits you. All you have to do is be open to receive.
