The quality of the experience will be remembered long after the price has been forgotten.
~ Anon
Bonjour!
Well, I did it…I returned to Paris to work on a screenplay, then took the plunge and stayed at the Ritz for a few nights. A friend joined me, and we had the experience of a lifetime!
I’m not quite sure why I am so in love with Paris, but I am. And I am beyond grateful to have had the opportunity to go back again to see some of my favourite sights and a few new ones, too, including Monet’s gardens at Giverney. Magnifique!
The screenplay I was working on in Paris is entitled, “Falling,” and is partly about Voltaire and Emilie du Chatelet. I made tremendous headway. I would work for a few hours in the mornings, then my friend and I would meet up in the afternoon and evenings to see the sights, wander the streets, sip wine at sidewalk cafe’s and watch Parisian life go by. Heaven!
Going to Paris requires some months of your time and some thousands of dollars; writing requires some years of your time, ugly drafts, nasty rejection letters, and bitter disappointments. Are these costs too high? Not for Paris, and not for a writing life.
– Eric Maisel, “A Writer’s Paris; A Guided Journey for the Creative Soul”
After five nights in our own hotels, my friend and I moved over to the iconic Ritz and shared a room. Oh. My. Goodness. The hotel is unbelievably beautiful.
Staying at the Ritz was a financial stretch for me. But the experience of doing so enabled me to grow in ways I could never have imagined. There are some things you can’t put a price tag on.
A few months ago, in a Good Men Project blog entitled, “How to Scare a (Wonky But True – to You) Limiting Belief Out of Your Subconscious,” I shared my initial hesitation with staying at such a fancy hotel—and how just thinking about doing so frightened a limiting belief right out of my subconscious mind, like a pheasant out of a bush!
All sorts of wonky and non-useful thoughts of unworthiness came rushing to the surface:
“I don’t deserve to stay at such a swanky place.”
“That’s where rich people stay.”
“I don’t belong there.”
“I won’t fit in.”
“I’m not good enough.”
“I can’t afford that.”
“I haven’t earned the right to stay at that nice of a hotel.”
It was an uncomfortable exercise but a very useful one…because it forced me to see those limiting beliefs—about my self-worth—in the light of day.
Then give them the heave-ho.
And let me tell you, our actual experience of staying at the Ritz was incredible. I didn’t feel unworthy or that I wasn’t “rich enough” to stay there. In fact, the hotel staff are so skilled at what they do, I felt like I was back staying with family that I hadn’t seen in a long time. We were made to feel welcome and special…and that we did belong.
To be honest, we got a terrific deal on the room (probably because I booked it when Covid restrictions were still in place). But at the end of the day, it’s not about how much we paid to stay at the Ritz. It’s about the experience of staying at one of the world’s most beautiful hotels…and having the wisdom to appreciate and enjoy every precious moment.
You can view the short video about our Paris adventure here.
How about you? Is there an experience on your bucket-list that might be well worth the cost?
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Previously Published on Pink Gazelle
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