Changing job, changing life
If someone had told me 10 years ago I was going to meet my husband on Tinder, travel the world with him after only 5 months together, move to Geneva, quit the corporate life and leave the snowy mountains of Switzerland to become a florist in Barcelona, I would have taken that person for a funny fool.
The mystery of life
Margaux delivering bouquets in Barcelona
“The Lord works in mysterious ways” Elwood Blues says in the movie Blues Brothers. Whatever word we want to put behind “the Lord”, I like to think that life works in mysterious ways. You work in mysterious ways. I work in mysterious ways. When we let go, learn to trust the process and stop trying to control everything, magic happens. I was, and still am to some extent, a firm believer of “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”. It’s an intrinsic part of my personality and my education. I always tend to believe that people who succeed are the ones who do everything in their power to make it happen. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s a very pragmatic approach that is not completely wrong. The only downside is that it takes away the fun and the surprise element of life. Things don’t always happen the way you have planned. Sometimes it’s better than expected, sometimes not. One thing for sure is that life will always take you where you should be taken. Whether you like it or not. With time and patience, you will finally understand why things happen, why things don’t happen, it’s because it was serving a greater purpose.
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
Quitting my corporate job
After 5 years in the corporate world, I decided to take a leap of faith and create a path that was meaningful to me. I had more to offer this world and I was ready to share it. I am very creative and enjoy connecting with people in a trustful environment. I love to write and express my feelings through my writing. There’s nothing that makes me happier than seeing someone moved by something I wrote or did for them. I therefore started writing articles for a blog, seeing a coach and embarking on my introspective journey. After a few months, feeling there was still something missing, I decided to quit my job and went on a Buddhist retreat. I was hoping meditation would answer my endless questions about life and what path to take. Unfortunately, or fortunately should I say, it does not work like that. My questions remained unanswered.
Delivery man Arthur holding bouquet on a bike with a wooden door
Questioning choices I’ve made
It did however give me the opportunity to open up and blossom. I was in a safe place where I could just be myself. I started questioning why I did things the way I did. On the retreat, I met a lovely lady named Ann who was from New York, had studied and worked in SF and is now living in Barcelona “because she’s always wanted to live there”. What a refreshing answer. It’s the first time I have met someone who is living somewhere for the simple pleasure of living there. .
At the end of the retreat, I went back to Arthur, my husband, and told him “why not move to Barcelona?”. He wasn’t even that surprised. We went there for a week, fell in love with the city and by the time we knew it, we were living there. I continued the introspection, started learning Spanish and spent hours walking around the city and the surrounding mountains. I took up singing classes, which helped me tremendously to literally voice what I was feeling inside. I even took part in a catalan meditation community.
Trusting the feeling that comes from inside
Happiness at its purest form on my friend’s face, Julie
One day, I told Arthur (you’re going to hear a lot about Arthuro, he is an essential part the journey and I simply couldn’t have done any of this without him), “I want to work in a flower shop”. I remember immediately then saying “Oh no, I need to find a serious job, I cannot continue to wander, sing, meditate, walk, without having a serious job”. Very calmly, Arthur said “And why not? If you want to work in a flower shop, isn’t it the perfect moment?”. The seed was planted, I let the idea grow for a few weeks. I sent flowers to a friend living in London, she was pregnant, celebrating her birthday and announced that she was getting married. I had to send her flowers. With the hormones, she cried of happiness receiving the flowers. I saw the look on her face and that was it “I want to make people happy like this, I want to move them in such a simple yet profound way”.
Turning this feeling into reality
Happy Margaux making her first bouquet
I started reaching out to local florists, working in flower shops, attending classes and workshops. I came to realise how old-fashioned the flower industry was in Barcelona. There was definitely something new I could bring to the industry, in terms of bouquet arrangements, how to communicate with flowers and how they were delivered. I’ve learnt a lot, and still am of course, about flowers, talking with horticulturists, creating bouquets, finding my own style of flower arrangements. I love learning and discovering how to do things my way.
When I look back, I wouldn’t have done it differently and am so grateful of how things have unfolded so far.
If you liked this article, you might also like the one on “10 things I’ve learnt as a floral artist during the COVID19 confinement” or “Why Mosaic?”.
