“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.”
—Alice Walker, The Color Purple
So I finally started watching the second season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel .” In The opening episode Midge’s mother runs away to Paris unhappy with her life in New York. Her husband goes to retrieve her and is convinced to stay. Before long we see their rekindled romance as they experience the novelty of bohemian Parisian life.
Saturday was an awesome day. I went to my mom’s apartment to set up meds. Afterwards I stopped into the little cafe on the corner for a late breakfast. I sat there enjoying the milieu and thinking about that episode of Mrs. Meisel.
Why do we think we need a Paris to escape to? Why do we romanticize these far away places we may never see? Imagine spending your life with your spouse, but constantly sighing over some unattainable Hollywood heartthrob...that would be sad and exceedingly unhealthy. So why do we do that to the places in which we live?
Why can’t we see our own spaces through Parisian lenses? I love where I am living. There are moments that feel like I’m in some South American city. Berwyn is very Hispanic and it is an older, more urban suburb. I’m certain that the secret is within. It is about accepting our lives where they are. It is about living today in the now and not floating through one’s day and place waiting for some imagined future other place that may never unfold.
As you begin your post holiday week, I challenge you to take time in your day to stop and look. Don’t piss off God by ignoring the color purple as you pass. Stop and smell the lilacs! Breathe deep. This is your Life...right now...it’s not a dress rehearsal for something else.
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