Paris –The Joy of Being Insignificant & Exhilarated Before the Iconic and Grand, & the Deep & Quiet Joys of Our Yearnings to be Together with the Exuberances of our Shared Human Life, that, at Times, Come Before Our Eyes
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When you travel, many times when you encounter something that you’ve never seen or experienced before but have anticipated the sight and event since photos or written descriptions have rooted its image deep within your mind or soul, and … then when you see it – no, when you behold it! – what was once the misty and hazy vision of your imagination, then becomes real, and more and more real, right in front of you, the sight nothing as you had envisioned. For how could it be!
And the sight of the real is stunningly way more than you had imagined, for here it is, right in front of you, and you as living flesh and blood, are seeing, experiencing, the sight now as beyond unbelievably real … The sight of the real and tangible completely erases away the dim shadows and flickering lights of the imaginary, and even the memory of what the mind had so imperfectly conjured before vanishes, the prior image evaporating into nothing, no longer able to exist in the presence of the real.
I have experienced such in my life – first seeing DC, and London, and New York from the air, walking up the steps to the Acropolis in Athens, walking within the ruins of the palace at Knossos on Crete – the Labyrinth of the Minotaur, seeing the Coliseum in Rome for the first time, standing before the Western/Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and touching the huge stones Herod the Great placed to expand the Temple Mount where he built the Third Temple that Jesus walked and preached within – all these deeply quieting with awe and tremendously exhilarating.
And yet all of these, pale into almost insignificance with the birth of my firstborn daughter, and she being placed in my arms an hour or so after she was born, such a deep and profound and lasting forever event that even now as a writer more than four decades later, I cannot even begin to describe its inner experience. For the incomparable and ultimate cannot be easily described because it is like nothing else, comparable to nothing physical or imaginary, unique in and of itself – like this moment here – holding something through my body I helped create, holding something that was mine to have and care for and nourish for many years – fleeting as they were in time – and yet to love as long as breath filled my lungs.
Now of course approaching and standing before the Eiffel Tower did not match the profound blessing of the birth of my child, but still, yes, it was stunning and exhilarating and wonderful to be before it, and not in the usual stylized photo of one standing smiling with the entire tower in the distance – though I do also have plenty of those taken on beautiful sunny days with large white clouds sailing behind it. But this photo, perhaps my favorite of the tower, is from my view as I stood beneath and near it. Small and physically insignificant beside it, as truly I was because of its size, I was happily defined and centered in the humanness of my being, excited and exhilarated to be before this iconic and wonderful and awe-filling structure – The Eiffel Tower.
And yet even though this photo is my personal favorite of the tower, it is not my favorite of our time in Paris. No, the following are my favorites, taken on a boat tour on the Seine, from the Eiffel Tower down to the Île de la Cité, where Notre Dame resides, and beyond and then back to the Eiffel Tower where we disembarked. These are photos of the city, of the denizens, of tourists, of families and lovers and dancers, and these are my favorite, for they show what it is to live in Paris, at least along the right bank of the river. For here are people, persons, enjoying their life together with others in Paris along the Seine.
I love this first photo, a small group. I waved at them, perhaps others also on the boat waved, I don’t know was just so focused on the group with my camera, and waving, and even shouting greetings. The man smiling broadly, truly enjoying the moment, was my favorite of the group – how could he not be? – and perhaps behind him, another man giving the thumbs-up, one of the women of the group waving back. Such enthusiastic life framed by all the concrete of the embankment, any and all graffiti it seems taken care and covered or cleaned and polished away, so as not to despoil the view of its beauty, strength, and grandeur, and the grace and life of the moment of those relaxing, sitting on the walkway, or for those of us on the boat only passing by, but with hearts open with a wish to share in the life of this little wonderfully responding group.
The second photo is alive with people – families, a toddler with a yellow shirt held on the lap of her mother perhaps looking at an electronic pad, a woman enfolded in the arms of a man, a parked baby stroller, wheelchair, and bikes, friends, perhaps lovers, couples and groups, eating, drinking, more than four using their cell phones, some looking towards the boat, others focused on others, two girls by the street waving, trash cans, a runner, yes, a runner in orange, a man and a woman sitting on the edge, feet dangling over the river, the man with sunglasses with both shoes off, the woman in the pink shirt with one shoe off and one still on, and of course, not forgetting the CCTV camera and the pigeons. All very familiar animations of life along the Seine.
The third photo – dancing in a small arena, like on a stage – and music, not from musicians it was, but from something electronic, a needless detail perhaps, because it was the dancing that seemed so joyous and fully embraced even though perhaps a planned activity – perhaps for a tour group, as evidenced by all the bags and backpacks along with the retaining wall. Most dancing or sitting with others, only a few seemed alone, perhaps traveling singly or just watching a couple they knew having fun. And I love the red of the woman dancing in the center, and the red of the woman sitting to the right, and to the left, the red shirt of the man dancing, and above him, sitting on the circular concrete seating bench, the red jacket and hat of the man looking to the left. All perfect staging, perfect costume design, arranged for the exact moment that our tour boat passed, so I could capture and share this perfect image of city life along the Seine, creating one of my favorite photos of Paris, a city beautiful, touched with magic, considered by the Parisians, and many others, to be the center of the world.
And now, I hope these photos are now at least a few of your favorites, a sharing in the life enjoyed in the city observed along the right bank of the River Seine – surprised and spontaneous, thoughtful, and staged, as they all may be or not – but still a view of shared human life in the heart, as the heart, of Paris.
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Moments of Seeing & Occasional Pieces – Writing In The Shade Of Trees
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Non-Fiction – Writing In The Shade Of Trees
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Beautiful! I felt like I was there with you!
My favorite city in the whole wide world!!!
So glad you made it there and are able to share your vivid experience with your readers!
Blessings!