“Fly off to France and find [your] waterfall.” —Ruth Reichl about Elizabeth David‘s French food writing and how reading it inspired her to travel to expand her understanding of food and life, in the introduction for At Elizabeth David’s Table: Classic Recipes and Timeless Kitchen Wisdom

It’s a funny thing about France. Especially if you have a fondness for the Gallic gastronomically revered country, it sifts to the surface truths of ourselves we may not have been fully aware or aware in the slightest.

In the quote above, Reichl is referring to a passage written by David which includes the description of music provided by a “convenient waterfall” as she and friends are enjoying a lakeside picnic in the south of France. Unplanned, but appreciated. Beyond her control, yet observed and savored.

Elizabeth David famously and successfully used the vehicle of recipes and food that were less formulaic and more free-form to engross the reader into the pleasures of what food can be and should be – something that elevates the everyday, and however fleeting, deeply appreciated.

However, your waterfall and my waterfall will be unique to each of us. The waterfall in question is not something we can preplan and concoct a map to lead us to the desired destination.

As of late, I am realizing with great definity that my plans are not a reference point for the universe. And that is not to say it is a bad thing. After all, the most recent universe deviation from my plan took me to France this summer, and currently, I am considering how to navigate another unexpected deviation that potentially as well could be positive, and perhaps that is just the point.

Where we find our “waterfall”, our bliss point of true contentment has more to do with saying yes and then soaking up every last drop of the experience. Then, upon fully taking in all that was offered, we are more privy, more prepared, more clear and open to the next waterfall so as to fully appreciate it and be grateful for its intersection with our life’s journey.

If someone would have asked me twenty years ago what my life journey would entail, to describe what I have the opportunity to, to have experienced, and where I have the opportunity to live, I did not have the vision or the foresight to consider. (And I was someone who thought I dreamed big. Note to my younger self: dream bigger when you are in your early twenties).

I found my “waterfall”, many waterfalls in fact, in France during my handful of trips as well as on my trip to Devon, and it was in those moments that I reassured myself my journey may not have been dreamed explicitly about decades ago, but somehow through trusting the guidance of waterfall moments, I have met and surpassed a life that I am thankful to have the opportunity savor.

And it is when we choose to savor, that we are in many ways saying yes to the dance that is asking us to participate. We may not know all the moves, but somehow we can figure out the rhythm because, funny enough, it is a rhythm that comes from within and feels magically natural.

Wishing you wonderful waterfall moments whether they be found in France or anywhere else on our beautiful globe.

~SIMILAR POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

~Your Unique Journey — How to Navigate It Successfully, episode #178

 ~Trust the Transition: How to Step Through and Embrace the Change You Seek, episode #225

~Why Not . . . Trust the Timing of Your Life?, episode #85

Images: Captured by TSLL in Le Jardin du Luxembourg, the Médici Foutain