Sunday Reflection: When Service Creates Magic
Enjoy this post completely free, no paywalls or subscriptions. Just like those old-school 90s blogs we used to love. 🥰 Images are my own.
This week's theme centered around Henry Miller's quote that has become my motto this year: "To make living itself an art, that is the goal." You deserve to give yourself time to live beautifully.
We explored curating seasonal experiences with intention, and one of Friday's journal prompts was the authenticity mirror:
Think about recent experiences you planned — how many were chosen because you genuinely wanted them versus because they seemed expected or "right"?
Place Dauphine
This prompt made me reflect on the last few years of series and themes I've published through This French Life. All of my travel experiences were shared online, and I planned much of the content with my community in mind. “What had they been asking for? What needs or interests did I perceive weren't well represented in the online world?”
Those concepts, strategies, and projects completely pushed me out of and back into my comfort zone, but they also created experiences that are now memories almost no one typically has access to. Truly once-in-a-lifetime, surreal moments: being completely alone in Monet's gardens at Giverny at sunset, wandering the attic spaces hidden in the rafters of a newly discovered church with Marie Antoinette's initials at Château Chenonceau, planting cabbage with the gardening team at Château de Villandry, having the security team at Château Azay-le-Rideau turn off alarms so I could walk barefoot on tapestries while filming irreplaceable works of art.
I wouldn't trade these experiences for the world. Even better, I have them all preserved on film - the mistakes, failures, beauty, and wonder all captured.
Yet for all of that, I did this work ultimately with and for others in mind.
Of course, I was genuinely interested in each program's entirety, otherwise I wouldn't have done it. But would I have chosen for myself to be in full makeup and hair every day, managing the driving, logistics, and production of eleven châteaux in thirteen days? Absolutely not. It was chaotic, exhausting, and stressful.
But here's the “aha” moment, as dear Oprah would say: if I had done this work purely for myself, I wouldn't have risen to the occasion and pushed through discomfort. I would have had "normal" or "ordinary" memories, not stories that feel generational.
Feeding pigeons on the river Seine, Ile Saint Louis, Paris.
The Paradox of Service
This brings me to my final reflection for the week. While our entire theme has been about putting yourself - your needs, interests, passions, and self-care - first and foremost, which remains ultimately so important and necessary, there's something profound to be said for also seeking opportunities to be of true service to others.
When you take care of yourself consistently, when you fill that well with love, patience, and joy for yourself, something magical happens. It spills over into extraordinary moments for others.
The experiences I had filming This French Life weren't just about personal fulfillment - they were about creating something that could transport, inspire, and serve people who might never have access to these places themselves. That service element pushed me beyond what I would have chosen for pure comfort, and in doing so, created memories that transcend the ordinary.
Sunrise against the Conciergerie and Palais Justice, Pont Neuf, Paris.
Living as Art Through Service
Perhaps making living itself an art isn't just about curating beautiful experiences for ourselves. Maybe it also includes those moments when we stretch beyond our comfort zones in service of something larger - when we say yes to opportunities that scare us a little, that require us to show up more fully than we might choose for ourselves alone.
The château series taught me that some of life's most profound artistic moments come when we're willing to be uncomfortable, to push past our preferences, to create something meaningful for others while staying true to our authentic selves.
This doesn't mean abandoning self-care or saying yes to everything. It means filling yourself up so completely that you have something genuine to offer, and then being brave enough to share it in ways that matter.
As we head into a new week of seasonal curation and intentional living, I'm carrying this question with me:
How can the art of living include both nourishing ourselves and creating beauty that serves others?
Perhaps that's where the real magic happens… in that generous overflow when self-care becomes service, and service becomes art.
With love and reflection,
Bon Dimanche,
Shannon
