Pura Vida!

Aug 29

Written By Tammah Watts

Reflections from my time in Costa Rica

by Tammah Watts

Pura Vida!..Pura Vida!..Pura Vida to You!

These two words, Pura Vida, are enthusiastically bellowed from most everyone and exemplified everywhere there.

I’m talking about Costa Rica, the ancestral lands of several Indigenous nations including, Maleku Nation-Maleku Family as Adrian, the tour guide, so lovingly and knowingly refers when he introduces us to Irma, one of its members.

Perhaps you too have been to, or heard about, the richness of life and the beauty that seems to be omnipresent in everything throughout this beautiful country.

Pura Vida! is proclaimed by Costa Ricans-or ‘Ticos’ amongst one another-as their way to say, “hello”, “goodbye”, “until next time”, “thank you”, “you’re welcome”, “so it is said”, “I agree with what you’re saying”, “all is well”, “it will be alright”, “enjoy life”, and, “good life”.

A few days ago, I was asked by someone what I enjoyed doing or seeing the most while on my trip. Okay, it wasn’t just any ‘someone’, it was my lovely esthetician, Chantel, who was carefully re-applying a full set of lashes to my barely perceptible natural ones with such mystifying precision it felt as if she was performing some sort of surgical procedure.

Photo Credit: Secretary Bird by **Rudi Luyten**

(Listen, it’s my one beauty thang okay? Actually, it’s at the insistence of I AM not A BIRD LADY. More on her on another day :)

During my trip I had seemingly lost them all to humidity’s reign-surprise, surprise not. Chantel had indeed warned me.

In fact, it is so very hot and humid there that a fellow traveler and new found friend named, Diann, felt compelled to find out the Yiddish term for when one perspires so profusely. Fortunately, the wifi gods were in favor and her friend reminded her, “it’s called, shvitzing”!

Ah-yes, a perfect word indeed!

And from there onward, through forests, jungles, rivers, and streams, we joyfully professed just how much shvitzing we were doing-time after time, each and every day.

Isn’t it just the perfect word to use?

Plus, humidity is nature’s natural sauna and good for the skin-I kept saying.

Dear friends had all encouraged and celebrated my eventual decision to travel abroad again, and in particular, to Costa Rica. They had been to the same land a decade ago and knew of the magic that is there.

Pura Vida, literally translates into English as, Pure Life.

Pura Vida! yes, with the exclamation added by yours truly, serves as such a beautiful reminder about who we are as beings in this universe, and who we are in relationship with other sentient beings-all sentient beings- including those dear to us who have transitioned and rightfully remain with us in heart and in spirit still.

REFLECTION POND

And to think that I was incredibly reluctant to go for such a very long time.

I had my reasons afterall, as one is wont to have. A multitude of valid justifications along with all the reasons not to do something-particularly something never done before. As in-new, different, unfamiliar, and admittedly, at least a little bit scary.

Fear of the unknown and fear for all these reasons, not to mention the cost and affordability of it all along with the thought of taking so much time away fit in nicely too.

“I can’t afford to take precious time away from existing and imagined responsibilities!”, I said to myself.

Does this sound familiar?

Have you noticed that this kind of resistance conjures up…and I do mean…conjures up, as if it’s an immense cauldron filled with fear and all kinds of why-nots that we’re hovered over with cricked achy shoulders draped in black robe… stirring it all, round and round and round.

And, the more we get caught up in the mesmerizing swirl of our fear-filled thoughts, the more beholden to them we become.

Have you noticed this conjuring up most especially when you most anticipate having fun and feeling free, or perhaps even the promise of great joy and happiness?

Consider this a bit.

Think back to times when you took time away or embarked on an adventure that you truly wanted to do yet resisted for all your reasons-your why-nots.

Deeply ingrained in most’s psyches is the tendency to withhold, restrict, and glorify in sacrifice and not. Without going down the rabbit hole of why, I wonder if it doesn’t harken to ancestral and societal norms that were designed to control the masses, deviation from “The Work”, at all cost. Think-capitalism, classism, sexism, for example.

So far, I have yet to meet anyone who has visited Costa Rica proclaim anything but joy, love, fond remembrances, and emphatic intentions of, “I’m definitely going back…I’m thinking of living there…oh, the food is so fresh…it’s just so beautiful there”.

And I don’t think I will meet anyone who’ll say otherwise. Obviously there are folks who probably do think otherwise, but I doubt our paths will cross. That’s that whole collective positive energy thing that is by design from the universe.

So anyway…back to Pura Vida!

Chantel’s question was and wasn’t hard to answer because there is so much that is beautiful in Costa Rica, and that brings joy to heart and soul. Although this tour was not primarily a birding one-which are offered in Costa Rica and throughout the world for those who prefer it-my oh my were there birds!

And yes, I did go birding on land and at sea, so to speak, as well as during the tour’s designated “free time”. And I loved every second of it and became so nourished from being in their presence.

A memorable experience that came forward in response to her kind question was the opportunity I had to float on my back in the warm ocean waves. The sun warming my face, letting me know that life is all connected-up above and below. Listening to life underwater in muffled tones, gently lulled me into meditative gratitude.

These were the same Pacific waters that I often visit at home and yet, our acquaintance was and felt so new.

*Photo of Magnificent Frigate and Brown Pelican - click to watch video of flying Frigates. (9 sec)*

Knowing this and seeing for the very first time in my life, an abundant flock of magnificent frigatebirds take flight amidst the familiar brown pelicans, is indeed, forever with me. Like the birds-it was magnificent.

I am now back at home, amidst the familiar of my nest again. I say “hello” and “all is well” to the resident mourning dove, house and goldfinch, hummingbird, crow, phoebe and towhee families among others.

From inside my office space, I peek through the blinds so as not to startle the/’my’ beloved orioles who now number five, maybe six or possibly more with their demanding hearty juveniles. They’re all drinking voraciously at the “hummingbird” feeder and fussing with one another in order to slurp up the purply grape jelly and orange slices that I have now replenished. What joy to meet them.

I alternate spending early mornings meditating in my backyard space with the bench on my front porch. Like the young orioles, this precious time each day reliably reveals familiar feathered friends, and the delightful discovery of new ones. Following my gratitudes, I get up and bid everything and everyone a “thank you” and “until next time.”

"Your nest is your place at home. Your need to venture beyond where you live, work, and commune in regularity is, indeed, very strong. Listen to it and honor it accordingly, just as the migrating bird does. Circumvent the tendency to pay homage to your internal voice bellowing forth fear and trepidations, and the many reasons why you cannot and should not. It is common to experience such hesitancy and to be afraid of the unknown and the unpredictable, especially when traversing new lands. Quell such anxiety by instead, reinterpreting your stifling internal dialogue as emotional and physical feelings of excitement and positive anticipation for what you will discover. By creating this new narrative about exploring beyond your nest and community, you will give rise to your need and desire to see more, do more, and fulfill more."

-KEEP LOOKING UP: Your Guide to the Powerful Healing of Birdwatching,

Chapter Seven -Migration: Birdwatching in the Environment

My first trip to Costa Rica has truly touched my soul and spirit in profound ways.

As some of you may know, it can take time for me to process such experiences and to then come into the full knowing of my thoughts and reflections. I have come to accept that my pace is custom designed just for me so that I can show up as my truest self-at ease and in congruence with my needs and efforts.

Perhaps this resonates with your way too.

Listen to your Self-you know you best of all.

I call this process of reflection, the “(bird) seeds”.

Symbolic seeds planted in my heart and soul that germinate and bloom with time and care.

And bloom they will.

*Ziplining through the canopy forest in Fortuna*

And yes, Pura Vida! embodies the essence of professing that a pure life with pure living is indeed possible and to remember that you’re living it right now!

Take the journey, do the thing, try the unknown. After all, YOU are Pura Vida!

Say it with me-Pura Vida!