My Thoughts’s Journey
What is a d e r i v e ? In reality, does this word even have a meaning?
These were my thoughts the first time I heard the odd word. In fact, I was asked by my teacher to “derive” in the Jardin des Tuileries.
I have always seen this place as delightful to wander in. It’s an impermanent shelter for people, vegetation, and sounds, as those elements are perpetually being renewed. Everyday, different people visit this place. Everyday, they’re undergoing their derive in this place. And in the following days, the memoir of their journeys is safely kept away in the deepest part of their minds; Memory. I myself have recently frequented this place, and I, like these people, experienced a derive.
The term derive is hard to explain, as it is believed to be polysemous. For instance, a derive can be illustrated with an experience. That’s my way of shaping it into a meaning. You’re now bound to see through my eyes, to adopt my senses, and to follow my path in this secret garden filled with clues as well as mysteries.
Let me introduce you to my thoughts’s version of the Jardin des Tuileries map.
My starting point was at l’entree Marsan. This is where it all began. At this point, I felt that I was crossing a fictional border between two completely different worlds. I couldn’t even decrypt the type of atmosphere I was immersed in—A heavy, disturbing noise of whirring cars and alarming horns was withstanding the natural sighing of the wind caressing the autumn leaves. Was it an instance of teleportation, or the scheme of my overflowing imagination? I was sent from a noisy, jam-packed, and urban world, to a new, spacious, mysterious, and green one. This confused me quite a lot but reminded me at the same time of life’s actual imperial powers that similarly to the power of nature, can’t be changed.
My thoughts were a prospection of what was awaiting me next— A massive and elongated fence was blocking the way. I could see in between its tied black wires the sharp teeth of my childhood’s haunting monster. The Tuileries Garden somehow reminded me of how life actually works. It’s a cycle of ups and downs, we constantly have to face hurdles to get what we want: a peaceful life. As I defeated the monster, a carpet of orange and crackled leaves welcomed me with a dancing parade—I crossed the fence, I stepped on liberty’s mat. I courageously faced the obstacle, I was valuably rewarded. As I was walking on nature’s majestical carpet, a statue of a man grabbed my attention. I could detect in the sculpted rock’s structure an unusual energy that was telling me to take this new direction. Although I wasn’t following a specific path, I undoubtedly decided to obey. A few seconds later, I found myself facing a second statue. That’s a sign.There’s probably a certain connexion between these two ornaments. I could now perceive in my mind’s blanket our interconnected society that is in-the-breakthrough of science and technology.
All of a sudden, my tympani got awakened by clicks and bell-like sounds. I turned around, and observed a massive group of raven and pigeons marking their territory around chairs.They showed a particular way of transposing from a place to another. Their heads were always moving forward. I could sense in these creatures the incarnation of time, as this immaterial system is always forward-looking. As I approached them, a strong and intriguing whirlpool of green chairs dominated my sight; they were placed in a scrambled arrangement— Some of them were facing each other, whereas others were placed back to back. I found this moment particularly funny as they reminded me of the disorganized person I am. But what was notably striking is the variety of people and their ways of using chairs. Couples, children, old people, men, women, were sitting on these outdoor furnitures. Readers, writers, sleepers, talkers, were using it in their own way.
At this point, I was fascinated about how Jardin des Tuileries could depict on its own canvas the variety of shapes and colors a population can take.This micro-society, is the perfect example of how the worldwide population should behave: regardless their differences, they’re living peacefully whilst respecting each other’s private space.
I therefore instinctively came up with the idea of following these chairs, although I was against the perception of being a “follower”.
The chairs took me to the Grand Bassin Rond. Across from the fountain’s slightly moving and shimmering water, I could detect a wheel shaped sewer mouth painted in a magical way— As I attentively looked through its triangle shaped holes, I felt that I was in contact with a portal separating two different worlds: the hostile and gloomy world underneath the bright and vivid one where everything happens. A cold and unexpected autumn breeze carried my dark hair in an animated dance in the air of September. This forced me to toss my head up towards the dark and heavy sky.
In my sight, were the dark gray fading clouds slowly plowing into each other. In my brain, were my overflowing burning thoughts bumping into each other. I found myself flooded with the vibrant ideas that were reaching my spirit; a powerful storm of new shapes, colors, sounds, emotions, violently converted my recent experience into a memory.
