This weekend I am visiting the south of France with my boyfriend for a work trip. With little desire to venture outside, we mostly stayed at our hotel and enjoyed the spa. There was no need to leave, we were lucky that on the rooftop of the hotel, there was an excellent restaurant. Just below this rooftop, you look upon a forest of neatly groomed trees.
Tonight at dinner I sat across a table of an American family in the South of France. This is inevitable as it’s tourist season, but ever since I expated to Bordeaux nearly 12 months ago I become particularly animated when I find fellow Americans in France.
When the clock turned close to 8pm, the family immediately fixated with awe on the birds coming home for the night.
I have already been here two days and have been awestruck myself. Like I said, there was no need to leave the hotel.
I was itching to tell them about it. A story about how hundreds will be arriving over the next half hour, every single night, and if you look closely many are families of bright lime green parakeets.
Sometimes I catch myself gazing out the window watching birds. Noting their biorhythmic clock, plumage patterns, behaviors and interactions, their birdsong with one another. To me, it is fascinating to witness the habits of other forms of nature.
I decided not to say anything.
Overhearing them discover this phenomenon independently and unprecedented to their eyes, I decided, was more satisfying than spoiling the surprise.
It immediately reminded me of myself in my current situation.
I am not a stereotypically religious person, but I do believe there are laws of life.
I moved to France almost 12 months ago to build my life here. To learn another language, and culture, strategically pointed towards an industry I want to work in.
To make my final point I will explain my current situation.
It can be difficult and hard work to expatriate. I want to stay. My path, so far, has taken me to pursue an MBA Part-Time program, where I sign and work with a company whilst simultaneously studying.
I have been searching, applying, and interviewing for this work study every single day for 5 months.
I have come second in many interviews.
I keep saying how I wish I knew how it was all going to work out. I wish I knew my future. I wish I knew what was coming next, how it was all planned out.
I have been begging for signs.
And now I realize,
I left these people to the unknown.
I don’t think they would have had the same joy to the same intensity if I had spoiled the moment.
And this is where I’m at with myself, my future, and the universe.
Part of the journey is accepting, trusting, and resting in the unknown.
And when that next moment is revealed to you, the excitement, awe, and joy overflow through you with the same intensity as a wave crashing on the shoreline.
And if you had known, you may not notice the coldness or the saltiness of the water that splashes your face.
You may not laugh the same when the waves playfully knock you down.
Knowing every moment of the future strips away the very soul from living in the present.
Like the forces of the ocean, the waves and currents,
The forces of human life are chaotic and the future is veiled in uncertainties.
The experiences you witness, they are your own, they are your rite of passage.
From the unknown to the known, your life path unfolds.
