Rester: to stay

When I was in Paris, one of the trickiest things for me was eating in restaurants. Besides not understanding what I was ordering (and ending up with a plate of raw meat 😂🫠) I was so thrown off by the pace of the meal. They would take forever to even come bring us water or food and then take forever after we ate to even check back in or bring us the bill. I was so used to the hurried American pace of trying to turn over tables and get people in and out, that I didn’t understand the total difference of flow. In Europe, the whole point was to STAY. Sit. Relax. Enjoy. Savor. Talk. Stay even longer. There’s nowhere to hurry off to, THIS is the point, being HERE is the point. It was so good for me to mentally practice this and just enjoy more, to just be still. My husband teased me the whole trip, “be french!” but I still think of it often even here at home. The french verb for stay is “rester” and I love that the word rest is built right into the word. Like how part of the “to be” verb that’s the basis of all our language is simply just to BE. Like the simplest command you teach a dog, like the simplest command you remind your soul. Stay. Rest. Be. 

[“Rester: To Stay” 8x10, available at the #135show TOMORROW on 11/2! @utahartmarket at @cottonwoodccutah]