The Simple Things

During the semester I spent in Paris, I always loved to go to the Luxembourg Gardens to relax outside in the glories of Parisian atmosphere, passing hours reading in the shadows of a 17th century palace while children pushed sailboats along the water basin's edge.  It was, beyond measure, my favorite place in Paris.

One sunny afternoon, my house-mate and I took some literature homework to the gardens, to get some class reading done without confining ourselves to our chambres de bonnes.  Like all Parisian parks, the Luxembourg Gardens are overflowing with green metal lawn chairs (more comfortable than they sound).  We pulled a couple of chairs together, and a few moments later a group of suave French teenage guys (complete with dark blazers, scarves, and cigarettes) pulled some nearby chairs into their own group and leisurely struck up the following conversation:

-C'est beau, la vie...n'est-ce pas?

-Oui.  C'est les choses simples qui fait-on heureux.

Which can be loosely translated to...

-Life is beautiful...isn't it?

-Yes.  It's the simple things that make you happy.

My house-mate and I laughed forever at the cliche nature of their statement, and how they so completely and seriously embodied the stereotype of French living.  It really was hilarious.  Still, I'm pretty sure that they were on to something.

I was having trouble thinking of something to write today, because I really didn't DO anything.  But I didn't have a bad day either, because it was full of simple good things: sleeping in, napping, making chocolate peanut-butter balls with my sister, spending a ridiculous amount of time on awkwardfamilyphotos.com, and subsequently looking through our own family albums and laughing at my own awkward roots (enormous hair and enormous shoes were both standard aspects of my adolescent appearance).  All these things brought me joy, and all these things were remarkably unspectacular.  

I have this tendency sometimes to do things in gigantic ways...like, I don't just go to grad school, I go to grad school in Texas hours away from all things familiar...I don't just write a 10 page paper, I research and outline until I could write a 20 page paper...and, instead of focusing on the task at hand, I'm always looking forward to the next life step.  Where will I live?  What will I do?  To an extent, I stress myself out unnecessarily...and, in the meantime, I can't notice the simple things that make everyday life beautiful in some way.

So here's to les choses simples.  Let's all notice them a little more often.  C'est beau, la vie...n'est-ce pas?