How to Have a Lousy Day in Paris

And my big tip for avoiding life’s snafus and snarls

The foreboding began on the bus. I obsessed about the burner. Had I turned it off after reheating my coffee? It gnawed at me. I hesitated at the entrance to the metro. To go or not to go?

With a deep breath, I opened and felt the situation. Despite my mind screeching on about disaster, my inner sense was — ‘it’s all OK. Go”

Once in Paris, I headed for the Louvre’s underground entrance, feeling smug that I knew about it. Sunlight streamed through IM Pei’s huge, inverted, glass pyramid, twin to the one in the courtyard above. Multiple rainbows arced over the floor and walls.

But, I focused on a more disquieting sight — a crowd of people accumulating in the large hall. Here’s the bullet-point version of my day:

• A heavy metal grill closed off entry to the museum. Not so smug now.
• Outside the entrance, a fluttering piece of paper announced the Louvre’s guards were on strike. Museum closed.
• Atypically, I was 45 minutes early. Argh! All dressed up and no place to go.
• Then, just like that, the demonstrators dispersed. They’d abandoned their cause for lunch, a sacrosanct event in France.
• My friend arrived, the museum opened but the tour we planned to take is a nonstarter.
• We settle for lunch farther afield.
• I switch my inner work journey destination from Saint Germain l’Auxerrois to Notre Dame. Reasons? “It’s closer.” “It’s a beautiful day.” “I haven’t been there in a long time.” “I have great experiences…” etc., etc.

All very lovely and rational. And very wrong.

• At Notre Dame, 500 people waited to enter. Déjà vu?
• I walked across the bridge to the Cathedral of the Archangels. (Another cathedral is never far away in Paris.)
• My hand touched the cathedral’s outer gate. A priest came out… and locked it. 5 PM closing time.
• I hit the metro, then waited for my bus. 45 minutes later, I discovered a piece of paper taped to the wall. The bus stop had been moved around the corner.

What a day.

Not very interesting, DL. Ah, but it is! It’s an excellent example of what NOT do to. Not only while attempting an inner work journey but in daily life.

Here’s the problem in a nutshell

My biggest error? Letting myself be knocked about by external events and relying on logic for guidance. I could have, at the very least, taken 3 long breaths and checked into the ‘greater perspective’. Then I would’ve found my way or, at a minimum, been in a better mood.

Note: The greater perspective widens how we look at things. It moves us from being powerless in front of events — “What a mess. I’m stuck with it.” — to seeking the solution or meaning — “What might I need to do about it? What is it showing me?”

Logic said — “Lunch far away from the original destination? Close to another big cathedral? Go there.” But making logical decisions without using feeling/inner knowing to verify them is, well, dumb. Not doing this blocked me from finding the day’s flow.

Note: The flow is that life state where events seem to line up and happen perfectly with little effort.

Hindsight is 20/20. Inner knowing is also 20/20 but the info is available when you need it. Much more beneficial.

And yes, you can do this. No, it’s not hard.

The how-to. You visualize or think about what you are about to do and sense within yourself — “Does it attract me in/leave me cold/have no impact at all?”

When I was caught up in — “did I leave a burner on?” — I needed to feel my next step and also seek the possible meaning of my upset. A strong sensation means something is up.

The dancing rainbows could have reminded me to tap into my intuition. My friend had walked back in the direction of the Louvre and Saint Germain l’Auxerrois cathedral. I’d been handed a clue. Did I notice it? Nope.

Instead, I ricocheted along from one thing to the next. Something simple like — “is this what has the most energy right now?” Or — “is this actually what I feel I want to do?” — would have done the trick. Not doing this resulted in upset and anger, which, naturally, fueled the storm.

I never centered, never sensed my way. I was logical but not very smart. Opening our perspective and noticing what pops out of the background can save a lot of angst.

Don’t go crazy with it.

Now, this does not mean you fixate on the meaning of every little thing or become fearful at a small inconsistency, or judge yourself when you miss something. That only increases the muck ups and pushes you farther out of your intuition and flow. I know because I’ve done it.

It takes practice, softness, and remembering to use it. In time, it gets easier.

How to recognize a sign

How do you know if it’s a sign? Well, meaningful signs usually appear out of the ordinary — like seeing a beaver under the Eiffel tower. Or, they happen multiple times. You see a beaver on TV, in a magazine, and on a shirt. Or you feel a strong emotional charge. You see a beaver and feel very sad, angry, afraid, or happy. Or you might be obsessing about a burner lit on the stove and seeing rainbows underground.

Ask for a sign.

It’s possible to request a sign. Once, feeling pretty down, I asked to be shown something uplifting. A couple of minutes later a bus rolled by. Emblazoned on its side was — ‘Oh lucky you!’ In English. In France.

That worked. I felt much better. Good to remember that messages can be fun and playful too. It’s not all irritation and angst.

Worry not. They’ll keep coming.

If you miss the sign and it’s important, the message will come around again. You can also, as I did, put things together later. That’s how we learn, right? It’s all fine.

So, stay open. Take a moment to reflect. Feel/sense for your best options before, during, or after doing something.

There’s no downside. Even if whatever you’re exploring means nothing you’ve given your intuition an opening. You’ll probably uncover something interesting anyway.

Oh, and don’t expect the message to arrive in a neat package of sentences or even words. Your inner knowing speaks most often in symbols and feelings. It’s a whole new language. One we spoke as children but were taught to discard.

In the end, I had no reason to be upset; my experience revealed something very important. I was out of the flow of my life much of the time and needed to reset my priorities, put the ‘magic’ back in my life. That was worth a lousy day in Paris.

Oh, and my intuition was right about the burner. There were no crispy cats when I got home. Just disgruntled, hungry ones.

Questions? Want to share an experience? Please do. Connect with me at [email protected]