How Discovering My Passion On A Trip To Paris Changed My Entire Life
The city of love and a passion for something new.
I can't tell you exactly when I lost my passion — for everything: my job, marriage, and life. Then, I read the "Artist Way" by Julia Cameron, and I started journaling daily on her advice. She calls it "morning pages," where you write about anything that comes to mind the first thing every morning.
It was not like me to do anything first thing every morning till after I had my workout, shower, smoothie, and suit for the day. But I did start journaling daily at a cafe nearby on my way to work.
I enjoyed writing so much that I decided to attend a writers' retreat. That was seven years ago. I wasn't a writer by any stretch of the imagination. I was a 'numbers person.'
But I thought going to a writers' retreat would be interesting. And, who knows, I just may come to love writing. So, while looking into various retreats, I thought, why not tie it in with a trip abroad?
Paris Writers' Retreat
I googled and found a writers' retreat in Paris by New York Times bestselling authors and a famous literary agent.
I packed my bags and headed to Paris. Finally, I got to the writers' retreat, which was beyond anything I could have imagined. Our writing classes were held in a loft in Île Saint-Louis, overlooking the Seine.
Inspired lives
There were sixteen of the most brilliant minds I had ever had the pleasure of being trapped in a loft. They came from all over the world. I was surprised that there was another banker there — except he was a director for the World Food Bank.
Among us were three psychotherapists, an architect, a nurse, an economist, and the former director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Only one of us participants was a full-time writer.
The hosts served us endless croissants and wine over those five days. I discovered the cafes where all the literary giants would congregate — cafés such as Les Deux Magots. And literary giants such as Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, and Ernest Hemingway.
And the ghosts of French philosophers, the likes of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone De Beauvoir, reminded me of my years of teenage angst when I used to devour their books and preach their ideology!
The stimulating discussions, engaging company, writing exercises, and Paris brought me back to life. It was at that retreat that I decided I was going to be a writer! And that decision changed the trajectory of my life.
Within the next two years, I left my job as a financial advisor and pursued my passion to travel and to write! It's stretched me in ways I never would have imagined. I found meaning in living my passion! A love I discovered on my trip to Paris seven years ago.
Paris is now an annual pilgrimage for me. It symbolizes my freedom to live the life I want. What burning desire do you have?
You don’t have to go to Paris to find what lights you. You just need to reacquaint yourself with the essence of who you are. — Jennifer Thompson
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