Trying to be as active as I can during these two months without tennis, I make an effort to walk to class everyday. The keyword is effort. My class is in the 9ème arrondissement, which is a 25-30 minute walk from home.
Navigating through the streets of Paris isn't exactly the easiest thing, even with my handy "Paris Pratique" which maps out every street in Paris, because lots of these streets are centuries old. Sure, there are the huge, wide avenues and boulevards, but there are also the narrow rues (streets). One could start out on a boulevard, walk into a street, turn around the corner into another street, and then get lost in a seemingly unending maze of streets that come one after another.
Or maybe it's just me. I do have a habit of getting lost while driving; just ask Jeni, she has received too many calls from me at random times asking for directions.
Anyway, during the first two weeks of class, I think I got lost about five or six times, usually as a result of thinking that walking into a particular street would lead to a shortcut. Eventually, I ended up where I needed to be, and in the process I traversed yet a couple more unknown streets in Paris.
So then, getting lost might be a good thing. One of the first things Elisabeth said to me was that it's necessary to get lost in Paris. As a doctor, I've always felt that getting lost is the worst feeling to have when you have a concerned patient or parent sitting in front of you; the entire purpose of medicine is to find the solution as quickly as possible, as directly as possible. There is no room for error, just ask any lawyer.
If my brain has been wired that way, how am I going to reprogram it to accept change, to embrace getting lost? Like they say, practice makes perfect; I'll have to force myself to get lost more often (not to be confused with someone telling me to get lost). I think I am going to take the metro, get off at a random station, walk around while avoiding stepping on the brown trails of dogs which one can find every few steps in Paris, get lost (that is sure to happen), and not consult my Paris Pratique until 2 hours later. Certainly I'll have my camera with me. Now if only the weather will cooperate my plan.
Will this work and allow me to embrace changes, spontaneity, getting lost? I don't know, but it's a step. Knowing me, I'll get lost trying to get lost. Even better, as long as I end up there.
