"Dear dreamers, I am writing to you from paradise."
This is how I could start this new article. I mentioned in my last post that I dreamed of writing elsewhere, escaping and writing you sorts of postcards about life, about love, about everything. I wrote it on August 7.
The next day, I received a call "Hey Jo, I'm going on holiday for a week, do you want to stay at my house while I'm away?". You can imagine I said yes 14 times. At least. 😁.
So today I am taking you on holiday with me to what has been a true paradise for me over the last 7 days.
I didn't want to write on my blog this week, I deliberately left everything that resembles work at home, in my apartment. Except my computer, because I love video games and I wanted to play a bit in the evening 😋.
But today I want to take advantage of having it to write, because firstly I love writing but also because I thought I might not have another opportunity to write to you from a place where I feel so good and relaxed. So let’s consider that I am not working today. I am simply sharing a moment of happiness with you, as if I was trying to freeze this moment in time to make sure it never disappears. Everyone knows that, spoken words fly away. Written words remain and give stories a taste of eternity.
Out of respect for its owners, you will see very few details of this place. Instead, it is my words that will paint landscapes, emotions, and moments for you.
When I talk about paradise, you might imagine a beach or a deserted island, but let me tell you right away, my paradise today has nothing to do with Tahiti, I didn't take a plane for hours to get there, I didn't need a passport or even an identity card. None of that.
So where am I? Less than 20 km from the apartment I usually live in. Which proves that one doesn't necessarily have to go super far to feel good. The only difference from my usual world is that I've moved from the city to the countryside. And for a nature lover like me, it's a gift from heaven.
Imagine a small house in the countryside, set on land covered with magnificent trees that provide shade and coolness while the temperature almost reaches 40 degrees... I'm not talking about a 200 m² villa, but a welcoming place where simplicity reigns. On the ground floor, the living room and kitchen are combined in an open space, upstairs, the only bedroom is under the eaves and offers two windows from which I can see the sky. The walls, floor and ceilings are made of wood, and one of the walls consists of a bay window that does not open but lets a soft light in. The upper floor is surrounded by trees, and as I write these words, the wind makes their branches dance, creating thousands of reflections and shadows that illuminate the room. Here there is no desk, I am sitting directly on the floor facing the bay window and I am enjoying the moment while a light refreshing breeze caresses my face.
I could have written outside, on the small terrace set up under the trees, but today the rain is finally back after days and days of intense heatwave. So it is from up high that I write to you, not like a princess in her dungeon, far from it, but rather like a child who has climbed the trees and made a den, a refuge where she can isolate herself at any moment to let her thoughts come and go. Around me, there is light, in front of me, branches, trees, birds. Daisy, my cat, has come to lie down next to me. She too has had a dream week.
This week has been as simple as possible for her as for us (Théo - my son - and me). I believe that what I loved above all is the incredible calm that reigns here. I can spend the day listening to the birds. It’s so relaxing! The neighbours are lovely and, although close to the house, are pleasantly discreet. Life in an old building (where my usual apartment is) is not made for those who love peace. Here, there are no slamming doors, no furniture being dragged around, no cars passing just under your windows night and day... None of that. And artists know it well, having a peaceful mind is really necessary for creation.
Here, my creativity is multiplied. Because my mind is at peace.
In such an environment I can write quietly, paint, dance, take up the music that I had to give up because of apartment living. I will keep repeating it, we are the fruit of our environment. I mentioned it in my poem called The Flower that Never Bloomed, to be able to flourish, we need to be "planted in the right place", and we need time. I persist and sign.
I believe this is even more true for an artist. Creation takes time. The time to find oneself, then the time for others to find us. Should we sacrifice our peace of mind to achieve this? I am certain that we should not.
We attract what we are.
So we might as well be the most serene version of ourselves, don’t you think so?
So I take my time, even if it’s not easy. Even if my work doesn’t pay the bills at the moment, it makes me happy and that’s already a good start. I have what many people are looking for. I just need a little more money to live well. Conversely, many people have money but search for happiness their whole lives... and seek it in "always more money". I believe I have the advantage of knowing how to live with very little and not necessarily seeking to own more things than I actually need. As a result, it becomes very simple for me to be happy. And above all, I deeply love nature. And fortunately, even without money, it is possible to take refuge in it, to find a forest, a park, a secluded and calm place. For a week, I was able to live among the trees. What a gift from life! I am infinitely grateful to it.
7 days of happiness. That’s what I have just experienced.
However, we didn’t do crazy things, we mostly just enjoyed the surroundings, hiking in the forest, discovering the nearby lakes. In terms of food, being in the countryside offers the possibility of having direct access to fresh and delicious fruits and vegetables, which have nothing to do with supermarket fruits and vegetables! I stopped counting the number of tomatoes I ate! 😂
In addition to all that, it turns out that a solar eclipse took place this week, on 12 August. The house being on the heights of the village and right next to a field, we only had to step outside to appreciate this beautiful, unique spectacle... For me, who loves the moon and believe there is a beautiful long-distance love story between the sun and the moon, it was simply magical. The meteor shower that followed that very evening came to enhance an already perfect day.
Two weeks ago, I was talking to my 19-year-old niece who is from a generation that literally lives with a phone glued to their hand, and who learns about life through the filter of social media, that if she learned to love nature she would always have a refuge, always a way to go out, to get some fresh air, to exercise, or simply to feel good.
Because life is not just made up of what we see behind our screens, whether they are phone screens or televisions, it is mainly made up of what we actually experience in our daily lives. And when we learn to love nature (or better yet, when we love it naturally, without forcing ourselves), then we feel rich from every experience lived outside.
Sunsets, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the forest, the ocean...
all of this becomes a treasure.
You may think I’m exaggerating, but I’m only talking about things I have experienced. One day my life collapsed beneath my feet and I had to start all over again. Starting from scratch, without money. Two things saved me: my friends and family who rushed to my aid to help me survive materially, and nature which helped me cope emotionally. That’s why I pay tribute to it in my paintings, in my own way.
Today, I no longer want to survive. I want to live.
And above all, I want to give my art a chance to exist in its most serene form.
So I let my fingers dance on my keyboard while my thoughts flutter like butterflies around a flower, hoping that these words find you one day, that they may help you and remind you, if it is necessary to do so, that happiness is hidden in simple things and that if you seek it, it may be like me, in the simplest version of yourself that you will find it.
Joanna 🦋
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