Costa Rica Lessons - Experiencing Versus Accomplishing

(Today we will have been back from Costa Rica for a year, and I realized it has been even longer since I’ve written anything about our time there…partially because it has taken that long to distill some of the lessons learned, Hopefully, bit by bit, they’ll make their way onto the page. Someone recently asked why life seems slower-paced in many Latin American countries. Thinking about that question helped bring the following thoughts into focus. )

At the first gathering of international families at the Cloud Forest School (i.e. those of us from the USA), we were given packets to help orient us to the school and community. But perhaps the most useful information shared was a piece of advice, “Don’t expect too much. Be content if you only accomplish one thing each day.” Not an easy frame of mind to adopt for those of us who delight in crossings things off our “to do” lists. There were many luxuries we didn’t have--a car, hot water in the kitchen, reliable internet, or at first even a dryer. Yet, at that point, little did I imagine that this “one thing” would sometimes simply be having clean dry clothes for the next day or all the ingredients for the evening meal. At first, I don’t know which was harder, walking uphill for 25 minutes carrying a backpack of groceries, or accepting this feat as my major accomplishment for the day.

Things move more slowly in Costa Rica. “Tico time” (i.e. people being little late) isn’t a slur but a simple fact of life. And it could be argued that there aren’t as many things to do in Monteverde as in a big city. However, it occurs to me that what ultimately makes life feel simpler and slower paced there is an attitude. People seem to be much more interested in experiencing life than in getting places or accomplishing things. There is one main road that leads everywhere. Michael said that traveling down this road was his definition of being online in Monteverde. He was much more likely to connect with people he needed to talk to while walking somewhere than by trying to reach them by phone or email. For us, “Tico time” came to mean leaving early for activities so we’d have time to stop and talk to people along the way…or maybe pause awhile to admire a rainbow or watch some monkeys.

It took us awhile to adjust our paradigms and values to not measure a day by things accomplished. The saying, “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today” doesn’t totally ring true to me anymore, but rather, “Be willing to put off until tomorrow what you had planned to do today if circumstances or inspiration call you elsewhere. Be willing to let go of a sense of urgency about getting things done and enjoy the people who cross your path, pause to dig deeper into the inspirations that come, appreciate the beauty around you.”

I had an opportunity to bring this lesson home this winter and spring when Bogie, our golden retriever was ill. Because of health challenges, he wasn’t very mobile, so I spent many hours sitting by his side reading, thinking, praying, or simply playing card games on my computer. But had I not slowed down…postponing the house cleaning and dishes occasionally, leaving the laundry in the basket for yet another day, or choosing his company over going out and doing something else…I would have missed a lot. I might never have realized how courageous he was, how much joy and peace he radiated, how unbothered he was by what was going on with his body. I learned a lot from him during his last months with us; we both experienced a lot of life.

And that’s what I want to keep doing…experiencing life. Yes, sometimes we need to accomplish things, but I hope I remember to put first things first whenever possible…to take time to watch a sunset, pet a dog, enjoy my family and friends, or strike up a conversation with a stranger. This is, as they say in Costa Rica, “Pura vida!” (pure life).