Sprinkling in French

Before we left on our Retreat, Elisabeth suggested we print some Sprinkling cards in French and bring them wit us. What a fun idea! Even though for years I have been saying that the Happiness Sprinkling would not fly in France (I have visions of getting tomatoes thrown at us while we hold Signs), I recognize that this may be just my story, and old one at that, and completely off base. Ready to walk my talk from our Lighten Up! course and not believe everything I think, I ordered three sets of Sprinkling cards in French, for us to take along.

On the first day of class, we distributed the little stacks of cards. They said: Bisous (kisses), La Vie est Belle (life is beautiful) and Tout Ira Bien (all will be well). Equipped with our stashes, we soon headed out into the small town on Antibes and began leaving them in random places. I was a little shy at first, but warmed up to it as the card I left on the post office box was gone within minutes.

Sitting down together at lunch, I hear one of our most vivacious co traveling friend explain the little cards to the owner of the restaurant, and giving her a few. Instinctively - and as I am once again running the old story - I make myself very still, hoping I wont be asked to join in on the conversation. No such luck. My friend points to me and tells the lady that I started the movement and that I can tell her more. And what do you know? it turns out the restaurant owner wants to know more. Oh boy. So here I am, putting my baby at the mercy of a classically critical French mind, explaining the hows and the whys. The lady listens for a good while and I can not read her reaction. Finally, she launches into a whole tirade of why this is brilliant, of how tired she is of seeing her compatriots' “tetes d’enterrement” (funeral faces) of late, and how needed this is. Wow... We talk a little bit more,  and as she leaves, I catch a huge smile on my friend’s face, on the other end of the table.

Fast forward an hour or so and our waiter deposits the bill in the middle of our table.

I open it, ready to begin the daily ritual of reading who ate what and how much we each owe, and right there, on top of the bill, I find one of our little cards - in English! It reads: Everything will be Alright. Looking up at the waiter, I can tell that he is extremely pleased, with a super big smile. He Sprinkled us, and reminded us that our bill was going to be alright (turns out that he actually gave us the wrong bill, and when he brought the correct one, which was more expensive, he laughed as he told us that this one would be a little bit less alright).

We were all giddy! After a day of Sprinkling quietly around the old town, bringing our Anacortes born work to the other side of the world, everything suddenly felt very “round” and for me, quite touching, as not only were we Sprinkling in France, but we had just gotten Sprinkled as well.

Great "in the field" lesson about questioning our old stories, and the card is right on: La Vie est Belle.