It’s Always Desperate Times Somewhere

July 13, 2026 · 1 min read

One summer in college, I studied abroad in Paris to satisfy some philosophy and art history requirements for my degree. After our plane landed, my class went straight from arrivals to Musée de l’Orangerie, where I proceeded to get lost in Claude Monet’s impressionistic masterpiece Nymphéas (Water Lilies). I was running on jet lag and red-eye anxiety, but Read more...

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მარიამ მამულაშვილი

I remember how I once went to Paris and stood in the orangery for hours by the water lilies. The author's story reminds me very much that "it's time to be desperate" is everywhere, but we just don't know it. It's a good reminder.

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თეა ხუციშვილი

I haven't been to Paris, but Monet's lilies in the photos tell me the same thing - that a person is always running away from something inside. The author's story reminds me well that "desperate times" are around us every day, we just don't look away. Maria, I really liked your story.

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ნინო კაპანაძე

Thea, you are right, even in the photos of Monet's lilies, you feel that a person is looking for himself. And I liked what the author said the most — that "desperate times" are always someone's now and we just don't see it. Mariam's story also reminds me how close all this is in our own backyard.

Eva Balážová

Monet's water lilies always calm me down a bit, even if I've only seen them in photos. The author's story from the Orangery reminds me that somewhere right now someone is on the brink of power and we don't even know it. Good reminder, thanks.

Lenka Nováková

You're right, those water lilies are really calming, even if they're just in the picture. I saw them once at an exhibition in Prague and the whole day after that I had peace in my head. I wonder if you also tried Van Gogh in Arles, the feeling is completely different there.

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