April in Paris
On Easter Monday I flew to visit family in Paris. Paris is by no means hot in April but it had been warmer much longer than it was in Ontario. Les Jardins Tuileries boasted a mile of irises!
There was a great musical interlude during the week away. One evening we went to a piano concert of a young man who was preparing for his Masters in music. He is the organist at the English-speaking Catholic parish in Paris, St. Joseph's. The program was intentionally designed to test or demonstrate (as you like) his ability to perform different styles of music. Some pieces were lovely and chromatic and others aggressive and virtuosic.
The space was very intimate. We sat only about 5 metres from the piano. The result was a similarly intimate experience of musical interpretation and involvement. That's the name of the game.
On my way into the concert I saw quite a number of homeless people. From my own experience I am very aware that the dividing line between being homeless and being able to care for oneself and one's family can be a very thin line. Who of us is not a little afraid that the line might even be close for us? Perhaps this is why we want to categorize these folks in the first place. As the world speeds up and technology comes to be at the root of more and more of the world of work it may be that this divide becomes even more obvious.
As I was wandering the Left Bank I happened by a storefront displaying photos from 1914 the year of the outbreak of World War I. One photo captured me. It is shared here. Two workers are seated at a table on their cart which is now empty after the morning's deliveries. The bottle of wine is there and they are going at lunch with knife and fork. The horse has an oat bag over its snout and is chowing down too!
Despite the challenges of life dignified humanity is to be found. Sometimes we need the ears. Sometimes we need the eyes. Sometimes we need to pause and break bread.
There was a great musical interlude during the week away. One evening we went to a piano concert of a young man who was preparing for his Masters in music. He is the organist at the English-speaking Catholic parish in Paris, St. Joseph's. The program was intentionally designed to test or demonstrate (as you like) his ability to perform different styles of music. Some pieces were lovely and chromatic and others aggressive and virtuosic. The space was very intimate. We sat only about 5 metres from the piano. The result was a similarly intimate experience of musical interpretation and involvement. That's the name of the game.
On my way into the concert I saw quite a number of homeless people. From my own experience I am very aware that the dividing line between being homeless and being able to care for oneself and one's family can be a very thin line. Who of us is not a little afraid that the line might even be close for us? Perhaps this is why we want to categorize these folks in the first place. As the world speeds up and technology comes to be at the root of more and more of the world of work it may be that this divide becomes even more obvious.
Despite the challenges of life dignified humanity is to be found. Sometimes we need the ears. Sometimes we need the eyes. Sometimes we need to pause and break bread.
