Mexico - Gentle way of life

It's sometimes difficult to express a feeling, to share a sensation, a state of mind.

Since arriving in Mexico, I've been experiencing life differently. Before leaving, I read a lot to try to understand the change, but nothing had prepared me for the reality. A reality that pleasantly surprises me every day.

I think one of the biggest differences is people's smiles. A genuine, warm, welcoming smile.

Time to live

Here, people take their time. A traffic jam... it's a great opportunity to get out of the car and chat with the person next to you. No one honks, no one gets angry. Road rage doesn't seem to exist here. Why get impatient... we'll get there eventually.

Whether in a city or a village, everywhere there are benches under large trees, fountains, and gathering places that allow people to connect with their friends, family, and community. Elders chat, children run about, and life flows gently by.

Childhood Memories

Under the great weeping willow, the wind smelled of resin and warm bread,

the church bell chimed midday like a tranquil heart.

There were four of us, inseparable:

the eldest, who impressed me so much,

me, the second, always clinging to Mom's skirts,

the third, picking dandelions,

and the youngest, the one who found joy in the simplest things.

Summer stretched on, golden, endless.

At Grandma Rose's house, the door was always wide open to cousins, aunts, and neighbors who dropped by unannounced.

Uncle Marc would click his dentures to make us roar with laughter.

Dad, unfailingly, would bring out his story of "the first dinner with his girlfriend";

We knew it by heart, word for word,

and we would hide under the table, laughing as we watched the guests hang on his every word, mouths agape.

Sometimes, at night, I can still hear

the floorboards creaking under Mom's feet,

the ticking of the clock that marked our happy days.

All of that is so far away now.

Yet, when I close my eyes,

I smell the lilac blossoms again,

I hear laughter echoing in the warm air,

and those good old days,

those good old days that will never return,

touch my heart so gently.

Everything around me reminds me of my childhood. Perhaps my memory is biased, but it seems to me that it was a happier time, and... I find that time again here.