The Beginning After The End

It’s a SPECIAL day today.

It’s the last day of confinement in France. Starting tomorrow, we will be able to embrace the social connection and vibrant life again – to a certain degree – and in a semi-confined manner.

Life will never be normal again; but who defines what’s normal and what’s not. After all, the “new normal” is most likely a step forward as we continue to advance the human civilization.

As much as we feel sad and devastated for all the lives lost in the battle agains Covid, we have to admit this virus has magically accelerated the societal transformation over night.

One of the examples is our stronger ability to connect with humans at a much deeper level despite that we have been so disconnected physically over the past 55 days.

For me, this confinement has pressed the re-set button and pushed me to a new stage in my life, where I realize how much I don’t know about this world, other people and myself. I have never been so thirsty for knowledge and connection as I am today.

In some sleepless nights, with the Diana Kroll music by my side, I asked myself many, many hard questions which I didn’t have answers for.

It may sound a big philosophical but it’s not. On the journey of self-improving, I’m still too naive and too green. It’s the truth, and the truth hurts. The extra alone time during the condiment gives me some extra space to re-map my path forward.

The path is to put a PAUSE on my personal blog project, and focus my time in the next 12 months on learning French, broadening my reading scope, journaling more with notebooks and pens, paying attention to my diet and fitness, appreciating life through different lens and layers, carving out more time to care for others and most importantly, fostering more meaningful relationships.

Everyone has a story. My story two years ago (when I started this project) was to find an opportunity to live and work in France to enrich my life and professional experience; and now – everyday – as I take in the beautiful sceneries that the Rhône and the Seine rivers have to offer, and admire the beautiful, intelligent, funny and liberal French women and men, I tell myself: it’s time to free up my mind and time to do something different. This personal blog project has been full of fun. Along the journey, I received a lot of encouragement from my husband and my friends (far and close). Thank you all for being there for me.

Life is a marathon. I will do it one step at a time, with determination, renewed energy and hope.

See you soon and in the meantime, stay safe and take care.

Sincerely,

Maggie ❤️