A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 30 – A Feast of the Senses

“Immerse Yourself In Sensuous Beauty” is Day 30 in Fiona Ferris’s book, 30 Chic Days. In this final day of the book, Fiona asks us to mentally step out of our preoccupations and step into the physical world. By paying attention to our senses, we become more appreciative of the world around us and feel happier and more connected to our lives.

We accomplish this by focusing on our individual senses.  Fiona gives examples of different ways we can enjoy our different senses in our everyday life. She lists beautiful ways we can provoke a sensory moment through sight, sound, feel, smell, and taste. She introduces two more senses: intuition and receiving. She discusses how we might increase our awareness of the information that these senses could be sending us.

One of the great things about being in Paris is that one is surrounded by beauty for the eye in the colors, textures and architecture of the city. There is opportunity for wonderful foods. A simple picnic with a sampling of cheeses, fresh bread and a delightful pastry is a terrific way to bring both the visual and taste to the forefront.  The gentle, cool Spring breeze on our skin while wandering winding cobblestoned streets brings the sense of touch and feel.  Smell – well, let’s skip the dog poop on all streets and sidewalks and focus instead on fresh ground coffee wafting from cafes. Picnics, wandering and soaking in the outdoor beauty of Paris is not available at the moment due to the Paris CoVid-19 lockdown. (The dog poop remains.)  I can still luxuriate in the sunshine and the wonderful Spring breeze when I sit in my window. The fresh bread, fruits, veggies and pastry are still available for enjoyment.  The air and sky are even more beautiful now with the startling lack of car traffic polution.

Fiona’s discussion on listening to our intuition caught my attention. Her advice to get quiet inside and outside so that we can hear our own response to a situation makes sense. It’s difficult to hear our developing inner thoughts when we are surrounded by outer clamor and interruption. Her advice to ask ourselves “what am I feeling right now?” echos my dad’s advice on dangerous situations. (My father was a career Army officer with extensive combat experience.) He taught my sister and me that, if at any time, we had even a vague sense of danger (which, according to him, is usually experienced first as a physical sensation – a tightness in the chest, a shortness of breath, a sharpening of eyesight and hearing, suddenly looking around for a threat for (at the moment) no obvious reason) then first and foremost, get to safety. Don’t question, don’t argue, just get our happy selves to safety. Then, and only then, go back over the weird situation and try to pinpoint all the very many things our senses noticed and why. The phrase was “The body knows first.”

My dad’s advice (while not light-hearted) is a useful, concrete example of listening to our senses. (He would be happy to add the definition:  “Safety is Chic!”)  I like that Fiona’s examples are just as concrete and useful. This chapter is a lovely read full of thought-provoking ideas of how to add more beauty and happiness to our daily experience just by tuning into our senses.

Note: The lockdown in France continues for another month until at least May 11. Happily, Fiona has written and published several wonderful books including one titled, 30 More Chic Days.  Even though this is a turbulent time of fear and enforced inactivity, focusing on how to add beauty and fun to our lives keeps my spirits up. Please join me for studying how to apply 30 More Chic Days in Paris lockdown!