This is my view from the top of the mountain, literally and figuratively. To my left is a breathtaking range of Costa Rican tree-top covered mountains. Directly in front of me is a view of the Pacific Ocean. Im sitting on the edge of the infinity pool listening to the jetted water lap the side. Because it’s still early in the morning, there’s only the sound of birds chirping and insects buzzing around. Soon, the kids will certainly make their presence known, but for now it’s just me and the stillness, silence, and solitude of my Costa Rican slice of paradise. And now they’re awake. Pura vida.

Pure Life. That’s what it means, and it’s the national slogan of Costa Rica. I’d heard about it before I arrived, but something about being here has given the phrase new meaning. On the car ride over to our house from the airport, our driver Camillo shared that pura vida is used for everything. How’s your day going? Pura vida. How are you feeling? Pura vida. Are you excited about something? Hopeful? Pura vida. It’s not just a phrase, it’s an expectation of a way of life.

We’ve only been here for a week, but already I can see how pura vida can become a way of life. Already there have been multiple power outages, and a water pressure emergency, but it doesn’t seem to have phased any of our neighbors. If anything, it seems almost expected during this the rainy season part of the year. Talk about pure life, I’m sitting with my legs dangling in the edge of the pool while staring out towards the ocean. How much more “pure life” can it get?

Yesterday though was a strong test of my ability to pura vida myself into going with the flow. This time when we lost power (and water), it stayed off for nearly 10 hours. We’ve been alternating days out doing excursions and days at the house relaxing and enjoying the view. Yesterday was supposed to be a relaxing day, at home day. Instead, it turned into a test of our perseverance. I didn’t think we would make it to be honest. Only a half hour in, we were making alternate plans to be anywhere else but here. In the end though, we never left. In fact, we ended up having a pretty good day. We hung out by the pool, we ate fresh fruit and used a lighter to light the gas stove to cook hot meals, we played cards and music. By the time the utilities were restored late yesterday evening (three hours after we expected by the way), we had held it together all day. Instead of relief though, I realized I had all this pent up frustration from lack of control and nowhere for it to go.

I’ve been learning through my travels that each place I visit, if I allow it to, has something to teach me about who I am and how I show up in this world. I can learn a lot about myself simply by watching how I encounter new faces and places. It’s a lesson that I’m hoping my girls also recognize as we travel.

As American travelers we can become accustomed to the way things are in the states, until we realize that perhaps much of the rest of the world experiences life differently than us. It’s no small understatement to acknowledge that our place of privilege limits our perspective. A picky eater like myself takes for granted the fact that I can go into any grocery store of my choosing and expect to find fruits and vegetables from all over the world, most of which are not in season in my local country. That’s not the case here in Costa Rica. Our driver encouraged us to eat fruit tropical, local indigenous fruit to the Guanicostia region where we’re staying. It was a good call, because not only was it easier to find, but it tastes great. Likewise, Costa Rica is in the midst of an energy crisis that causes folks to regularly experience blackouts in an effort to upgrade and conserve energy. That’s new to me, but not to the rest of the world.

Before I left, I set a goal to allow myself to experience just enough time outside my comfort zone, the stretch zone, not in the panic zone. Some of the stretch opportunities have come by choice (for example the food and the excursions). Others, like the energy crisis have come by circumstance. There’s a lesson in this experience. We don’t always have a choice about how or when the stretch opportunities presented come to us. We can only control how we respond. If I’m going to truly be able to experience pura vida, I’m going to have to open up to the life that’s happening right in front of me.

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