Take your time...

Recently I was listening to an interview by Rick Steves titled "Paris City Guide" where he was interviewing a guest from France. The interviewee was talking about how people in Paris like to take their time. Evidently Parisians especially feel this way about eating in restaurants; they hate to be rushed. He said the best bakeries are the ones with the longest lines. They also hate to rush others according to this interviewee. They think “Let them talk and enjoy their meal."

I have to admit, initially I was thinking like a non-Parisian at this point: "If there's a line at a bakery I think I would just look for another bakery. I mean, how different could they be? After all, if I'm in Paris, I don't want to spend the precious little time I have waiting around....blah, blah, blah..." After awhile of mulling this concept over, I had an epiphany: Alas! I’m someone who has a million thoughts a day and no one who I would force to listen to them. I am someone who loves to hear people’s “Stories” but no one with the time to tell them because no one wants to impose on others “Time.” Why is this? We all fill our days so full of other garbage that we don’t have time for the important things in life – each other!

No wonder there's a communication barrier between Americans and Parisians. We, generally speaking, have different priorities it seems. Americans are all about the go, go, go - with fast food, fast lanes, drive-thru restaurants, express lines, etc. We thrive on text messaging and e-mails (myself totally included!) because we don't want to take the time to "talk" to people when we just have something "quick" to say. We also tend to get frustrated when someone takes too long to give an explanation. I can't tell you how many times people have walked away at my work when someone was trying to give directions. They would rather spend their time wandering aimlessly than actually “hear” what someone else has to say. Even our lives are all about hurrying to the next destination - like that Trace Adkins song - We very well might "miss this" whatever it is because we don't take the time to appreciate it. We are already onto the next big thing before we've fully embraced the previous experience. Why can't we just slow down and let someone talk, or eat, or live? Would that relaxed way of life really be too much for us to handle?

Evidently Paris is a place that values relationships, time, and life. What an incredible concept! Maybe trying to do so much stuff before we die isn't living a "full life." Maybe it’s more about doing the most with the time we have. This is when I realized that I have yet another reason to move to (or at least visit) Paris. I mean, there's the fact that it's Paris (the romantic city in the world, chalked full of art, romance, great food, and on and on...). Now though, I have discovered a place where people actually want to take time to enjoy one another's company. Imagine a place where people want to sit in a restaurant enjoying the fantastic cuisine and are actually interested in the person they are with; without looking at your watch and giving the waiter dirty looks for the check.

So that is my new philosophy for my life; although I am not sure how successful I will be at pulling it off. I mean, I like the general idea, but I still have the attention span of a gerbil. I am also surrounded by millions of other gerbils rushing around in their fast cars, to fast food, for a quick bite to eat, etc. I do love people, conversation, and good food. I grew up in the Seattle area with amillion things to do at any given time, so sitting still is not my strong suit. So who knows; we'll see! Maybe I am a good candidate for Paris residency after all.