Problems

It’s eight in the morning. I got up early today, I think I was expecting the rain. Still half asleep at about five in the morning, I could hear the few fat noisy drops

The first thing that came to mind was my oft repeated wish that a rainy day: “ would find me sitting in a cafeteria early in the morning, watching the rain from the window, drinking a hot coffee and watching people rushing by”. The reality is that I rarely did this. Perhaps that longing is the result of some Argentine book or story that transports me to a non-existent and nostalgic moment that gives rise to the need to stop and review my life while looking at the rain.

I took my pills with water and made myself half a cup of coffee, because I knew that I would need to drink ‘mate’ later, watching the rain fall.

I read a bit of Stoic philosophy to get going and help me reflect while looking at nature.

I started the ‘mate’ ceremony with MY ‘mate’, a leather covered one which has an engraved inscription that reads “Uruguay”. It is almost erased because I bought it forty-three years ago at the Buenos Aires Rural Exhibition. It is well known by all my family and I love it dearly.

Everything was now ready to enjoy a morning rain, the first in September, the first after a scorching hot summer.

A high chair, garden, mate and thermos. The birds sang more than on other days; everything was ready so that I would be able to enjoy some very special moments on my own and merge with a nature free of human voices.

From my chair I watched the rain fall and hit the ground and the leaves of the plants in our garden. For a moment I stopped to observe the vine that my father had planted in two thousand and eighteen. Although already grown, it only gave a bunch of ten poor grapes that dried up. There were three leaves together that received raindrops: one medium, another small and the third of intermediate size. I fixed my eyes on the three and saw with astonishment that the two larger received water continuously, but the smallest never really got a drop. I stared with interest, searching for a scientific reason for this situation, suddenly the small leaf received three very powerful discharges of water that seemed as if they would tear it from the stem, but it resisted.

Acording to a popular saying “IT NEVER RAINS TO EVERYONE’S LIKING”

As with the leaves of the vine something similar can also happen in the lives of people, when what rains down on us are PROBLEMS, in this case “It always rains to everyone’s annoyance”.

We tend to believe that bad things happen only to us, or at least more than to others, but as in the case of the leaves, it is only a partial and subjective view, since they all received drops, but at different times.

But what are the PROBLEMS?

They are just things that happen to us from time to time or even daily. Things to which we must give the space and the real importance they have. Our mind, filled with fear, anxiety and insecurity is what makes us overestimate those “terrible” things that happen to us.

We must put each problem in its particular context and not overwhelm ourselves with “EVERYTHING” that happens to us. Our mind can also become quiet and learn to control our emotions and impulses; to see the situation more clearly and not to despair.

Think and act in order to find a solution, knowing that there are things that do not depend on us and we should not “PRE-occupy” ourselves with them, only take care of what we can. And if we can’t find the way out, the experience of having tried and endured will serve as a lesson for the future.

‘Mate’ and rain, what a good conjunction for a morning in which I could be part of nature and think.

The rain stopped, and, as always the sun could be seen appearing through the clouds, which dissipated, just like the problems.

Walter Gaydou
Marbella
September 2022