Friday, March 25, 2005

Piaf, Morrison, Wilde and the others..


Père Lachaise, Paris - March 25, 2005. Photo: Norwegianblogger 2005 Posted by Hello

Yes, I've been visiting them all today - at their last resting place at Père Lachaise here in Paris. What a strange place. I arrived in the morning, and the sun shone through the trees and there was a little mist in the air. Even in sunlight it felt a little spooky. It's strange to meet death in such a profound way. At times I felt that I could smell it when I walked between the gravesites. All these people that were so filled with life, art and meant so much to so many now rest there, as bones and earth. Their work lives on though. The music of Chopin, the voice of Jim Morrison and Edith Piaf, the works of Moliere and Wilde and all the others that now are at the other side of life - dead in other words. Today I was thinking that most of the famous people resting in this graveyard experienced a lot of tragedy in their lives. Is that the price of fame? Is tragedy and sadness necessary for real art? It's hard to say, but today gave me an opportunity to think about the lives of these people and to observe (there we go again :) ) how different people react when they get to the gravesite of their heroes. At Jim Morrisson's grave there were a lot of young people with their headsets on - obviously listening to his music. At the same time there were guards at this place keeping an eye on everybody that came close and shouting out if something inappropriate was going on. The city of Paris had even closed off the area around the gravesite because of the doings of his fans. That's rock'n'roll I guess. At Chopin's grave it was really quiet, and a lot of flowers had been arranged around the white marble sculpture. At Oscar Wilde's gravesite I was amazed to see the ornamentation of the grave - when I got a little closer I could see that there were lots of marks from kisses that made up what I thought was the ornamentation. I think he would have liked that! At the same time I heard a guide say that someone had damaged parts of the sculpture because they hated that he was gay. I guess he wouldn't have been surprised about that either. At Edith Piaf's grave people stopped up and stood quietly around her grave looking sad. I guess she gave voice to a lot of people here in France during her lifetime. All in all - a visit to a cemetery could be an interesting experience. It surely was for me.

Today is a wonderful day in Paris by the way - it's summer and enjoy every minute of it. Tomorrow I'm going back to Norway so now I want to go out and enjoy the rest of the day. Au revoir!!

Thursday, March 24, 2005

Ani Di Franco and me in Paris

Yesterday was a wonderful day here in Paris. Sunny and nice. Couldn't be better. During the day I walked the streets and spent hours in Parc Luxembourg listening to music, reading and enjoying the scenery. In the evening I went to Parc de Villette for a concert with the American singer Ani Di Franco. It was a fantastic concert; political, lyrical and fantastic - and I wasn't invisible anymore. Spent the whole evening with Margi from Paris; and had a great time. And Indian Ruby, my only (?) reader - YES; I AM HERE IN PARIS: Wish you could have been here too.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Invisible in Paris?

I'm in Paris - walking the streets, enjoying the scenery, marveling at the architecture and all that's going on in the streets. It's strange to walk around at a place where you don't know a single person, where every person you meet is a stranger and you're not known by anyone. I'm an observer of the life of others, and I'm not observed by anyone. I think I enjoy it though. It's maybe part of my nature. I enjoy being an observer, and being an Anthropologist by education makes it even more interesting - it's my craft - at the same time - is this life? These last days in Paris have made me think about this. Do I really enjoy being invisible? I guess the answer is both yes and no. It's wonderful to observe life - to see people communicate trough words, gestures and deeds. That's easier when I'm at a distance - then I'm able to take in a lot more about the situations, but I'm not there, I'm not feeling, talking or acting. In Paris I really feel invisible - people look away as soon as I look at them, and no one is really approachable. I'm probably like them, looking away - not being open and approachable. Why are we like that? Why are we not able to share more of this life? I'm not sure if I like or dislike being invisible, but maybe there is something to learn from this? A couple of years ago I visited a monastery in Taizé here in France. It did take a day or two to be able to quiet down within and to be able to connect with God through my thoughts and noise within. Traveling is in many ways similar to this, especially when I'm traveling by myself. It takes a day or two to get into the mood and to learn to appreciate the loneliness as a way to quiet down and to listen to my thoughts and to God through my experiences. I've tried to find my way to some of the churches in the city. Yesterday I did light two candles in the Notre Dame de Paris. One of them was for Indian Ruby - and it was nice to be able to let the candles be wordless prayers of love and concern when words are hard to find.


Notre Dame De Paris March 22, 2005. Photo: Norwegianblogger Posted by Hello

Have I connected with God in Paris? I don't know - I feel that the churches are havens of peace in a noisy city, and I have felt called to pray and to meditate while I'm there. The Church of St. Severin in the Quartier Latin was especially a peacefull place today. There was a simple cross made of branches hanging above the altar - it was simple, but powerfull. I was praying, and then my thoughts started to wander - there's so much noise inside of me, but I'm trying to open up. In my mind I'm reaching out to the people I pass by or observe, but there's no response. Is God like that as well in my life? Is He reaching out to me, and I walk by - thinking of Him as an invisible presence that really don't know me? I dare to think that even here, in Paris, I am seen be Him, known by Him and loved by Him - and I hope that this knowledge will be felt as well - I guess this is my prayer for everyone I pass by, and for myself a late night in Paris. That we all are seen by Him - and when we're not seen by anyone, we are loved by the Creator of all things.

I do know that there are few other cities in this world that can compare! Looking forward to explore the city, my inner being and God's ways in the next days - and if you're here in Paris maybe I'll see you. Enjoy life!