The rains of now

Gandhi once wrote "I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present. God has given me no control over the moment following."

Dear fellow explorers, how has the week treated you? Last time we met, Gandhi's gardens were almost frozen by la Tramontana, the gelid winds of the northeast corner of Spain, yet there was one person who found meaning, warmth and the company of a loyal friend in these grounds. This week the trees are still asleep, but the wind has gone, leaving behind a trace of frozen silvery roads over the waves of the Mediterranean.

Like the rain washes away all the blurry memories and brings the mind to the present moment with its big, refreshing drops. 


Like the rain wishes away all the unnecessary ambitions in life and awakens the mind to the present moment with its cold, refreshing drops.



Matilde has come out of the family flat overloaded with bags, there's the black bin bag with the rubbish from yesterday, but also the blue bag with paper for recycling, and the other two, yellow and green, also for recycling plastic and glass bottles respectively. There's her own handbag with paper tissue, keys for the car, keys for the parking lot, keys for her mama's flat, keys for the office, two mobile phones, a couple of almost forgotten lipsticks and her big purse full of memories made of old kodak paper.

Matilde is rushing today, was rushing yesterday, been rushing for the last 27 years, since her first son Adriá  was born. She's been filling in the gaps, stepping into the next shift, making and serving dinner, paying the bills, keeping the husband and children happy. So they could enjoy that second home by the beach in the future, so the kids could have their own car before going to university, so the husband Xavi could have a promotion and a salary rise every four years, so they could go on a cruise holiday around the Mediterranean before the children left high school, so they could pay for mama's casal d'avis residence, so they could give the daughter Daniela the best wedding reception the family ever had, so they could help Adriá with the deposit of his first flat when he moved out.

Matilde is rushing today, she barely fits in the lift on her way down to the building's entrance. She's surrounded by her bags, some she has to drop, some she has to empty carefully and return to the family flat where she will keep filling them with wishes that, if not fulfilled, can be recycled. In the end, Xavi didn't get as many promotions, which led to not being able to buy the second home by the beach, which led to Matilde having to work longer shifts, which led to Daniela having a just-socially-acceptable wedding reception. In the end, neither Adriá nor Daniela went to university, yet they got cars. Today Adriá is unemployed and living with his parents.They all went to Andorra instead of taking the cruise holiday around the Mediterranean before the kids left high school. And mama is still living with them.

Matilde is rushing today, she has even forgotten to drop the bags in the appropriate containers in front of the building. She is late for work. The sky is grey and menacing, and she clicks her tongue when she realises she's forgotten to bring her umbrella along.  As she enters the path that passes by Gandhi's statue, the first big, cold drops hit her.

Matilde rushes even more, to get to her car, on the other side of the gardens. Yet the rain has started to fall heavily and the pavements are wet and slippery. Matilde's shoes don't respond and she falls down on her side. As she loses balance, slowly, her arms draw big whirling circles in the air and the bags are flung in different directions, making a colourful mess all around her. All laid on the floor, surrounding her: the black bin bag of rubbish memories, the blue recycled paper dreams, the yellow empty plastic future wishes, the green old glass message bottles. She doesn't even try to get up, she can only contemplate the scene with a smile, staying still, breathing in the cold, staying still, enjoying the moment for many, many minutes.


Like the rain washes away all the blurry memories and brings the mind to the present moment with its big, refreshing drops. 


Like the rain wishes away all the unnecessary ambitions in life and awakens the mind to the present moment with its cold, refreshing drops.