Diner en Blanc is a special event that began with a group of
friends 28 years ago. In a park in Paris, a group of friends decided to get
together. The person that organized the event has been abroad for quite some
time and wasn’t sure how he would they would recognize each other. So they said
they would wear white clothing and bring all white picnic supplies.
As tradition moves on, the diner became very popular and now
is an international phenomenon. It grew 10x exponentially as Peter Diamandis
would say “The community shapes the path and accelerates the process.”
We arrived late at the rendezvous and were greeted by a
gentle, familiar voice. The man seemed humble, kind and courteous despite our
tardiness. At the time I could not figure out how I knew this man, it seems as
though we have known each other from the past. He was the leader of our group
for the event.
Wearing glasses on his slim complexion, with a smile that is
so bright like a headlight in a midnight highway. He had this audacious attitude
about himself that made you feel welcomed with his presence.
Upon check in we begin our ascent to the secret location. Like
ants on a mission to get food for the colony we followed each other dressed in
white.
You can never be too prepared.
Before I continue I need to add that there are special requirements
for this dinner. Besides being fully clothed in white with silver or gold accessories
you have to come prepared with a specific table in size, 2 chairs, 2 white
napkins, a candle votive, cutlery, 2 white plates, a wine glass (since I don’t
drink, we only took one with us), 2 cups, a water, and an option of bringing
your own food.
For our first time attending this event we thought we came fully
prepared however, we realized that we would have to adapt when disaster ensued.
Half way to the secret location, struggling to carry the supplies, our paper bag
that was carrying fragile items like the plates and the wine glass ripped open.
Feeling a bit humiliated we were stopped in our tracks.
The generosity was overwhelming, some of the 7,000 other
attendees that witnessed this disaster came to our aid. Even though everyone
else was carrying the same load, some people bent over to help us collect our
items that were scattered all over, including the one wine glass and porcelain that
was shattered into pieces.
I am not sure what I was humiliated by more, whether it was
our first time attending and being the only ones that had this happen too, the
fact that we could no longer meet the requirements for the dinner, or that we
were going to carry all of our broken/supplies to the dinner in a big black
garbage bag.
Letting go and adapting to the situation was key to
overcoming this anxiety. This could of only got worse had the reaction not been
transmuted.
In the end, non of this mattered as much as I thought it
would at the time.
Like a swarm of white bees,
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