Tout

Tout (Fr.)/ Everything (Eng.) pronoun: All things of importance; a great deal. All of the things of a group or class.

Last week I was lucky enough to experience Lauryn Hil live in Paris. It wasn't advertised and I found out about it by sheer luck. Seeing her perform live has been on my bucket list since The Fugees hit the scene in the 90's. Seeing her perform after such a long hiatus from the public eye, in Paris, was everything to me. Like a dream come true.

There are lots of rumors that have circulated in the wake of her hiatus, and I found myself having to get caught up on all of them right before the show. Not because I really care about what everyone thinks about her and her departure from the public eye, but so that I could connect the dots in case she made any reference during the show.

What I found during my search were a couple of quotes from her that struck a cord with me:

"The less I have, the freer I am to do whatever I want."

(Ms. Lauryn Hill performing Everything is Everything in L'Olympia, Paris, April 16, 2012)

"I don't need anybody to market or promote me. If people don't want to hear this music, then it's not for them. You cannot please everybody."

Hear, hear. I think these tidbits of wisdom apply to life in general and especially resonate with me as I continue my journey of life in Paris.  I don't know about you, but this music is definitely for me.