Ryan and I took our second trip to the beautiful and sacred land of Costa Rica in November of 2023. We were celebrating our Honeymoon, aka Luna de Miel, and traveled throughout the country over our 9 day vacation. Ryan and I have been together for 6 years and these 9 days were the most quality time we have spent together. We cultivated quality time with support of our wonderful Honeymoon itinerary created by ROAM Adventures travel company. Over these 9 days we assimilated rapidly into the Pura Vida culture of Costa Rica.
So what is Pura Vida? My unique perspective is that Pura Vida means to live life intentionally, mindfully, and fully; it means to let go of all resistance and fight and simply flow with the current of life and allow it to support us. This lifestyle of nonresistance reminds me of one of my favorite books, Ask and It is Given, by Abraham, Esther, and Jerry Hicks. Specifically Abraham presents to concept of the flow of abundance that all of us humans have access to. This flow is like a river and so often we spend time paddling vivaciously upstream, trying to seek out our desires through fighting the flow. Abraham advocates to let go of this struggle and to simply flow with the river, shifting our energy from trying so hard to get what we want to simply allowing what we want to already be and to take form in the flow. Pura Vida means getting out of our own way of the flow of abundance, it's stopping the fight, struggle, and resistance and focusing on the richness that our lives already hold. Pura Vida is taking things slow, as they flow, and fully experiencing them in each moment opposed to rushing to the next best thing, the next source of unquenching fulfillment.
When we returned from the magic of our Costa Rica Pura Vida adventure, the rush and struggle and resistance in our lives in Colorado, USA, was illuminated and shined so fiery, so overwhelmingly bright, that I could not look away or dim it. I returned right back to my therapy career in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation setting where I worked 40 hours a week and was salaried to work more if I was needed- which it seems I always was. I returned to an overrun and stressed out staff of coworkers and supervisors who were so thankful I was back to lessen their load. I returned to the pain and hurt of not only my client's addictions, traumas, and grief, but my family's as well- and all of this hit me like a Tsunami forcing me to fight upstream to survive. My mental and physical health took a quick turn, beaten and battered by the tsunami of this fast-paced, scarcity mindset, stressful culture I found myself in once more.
I knew I needed a change. I knew without change, I would not make it. After a few days of physical sickness and the return of extreme anxiety symptoms, I decided to put my month's notice in with my job, I decided to apply at private practices which would support my work-life balance and align with my Pura Vida hopes and dreams for my future. I started feeling better with every change I made towards personal empowerment. I narrowed my job search down to 4 practices and attended 5 interviews in one week. This all felt fast and like a lot, especially while still working at the treatment center, but my heart felt a weight lifted and I knew the work I was putting in would pay off- and it did. I received 3 job offers, did some soul searching through talking with loved ones, journaling, music, and meditation, and chose my new place of employment. It was 3 short weeks from the day we returned from our honeymoon to the day I accepted a new career offer which aligned with my Pura Vida dreams. These 3 weeks were not easy, they were some of the hardest days of my life. I experienced more anxiety, grief, and pain, than I have for years, but the difference is that I listened to myself- my authentic self. I tapped into my needs and recognized that there was no way through but to make a change. Now, I feel miraculous. I have a few weeks left at my high stress job and I am facing them with compassion, acceptance, and the true Pura Vida flow that fills my soul.
There are a few messages I want to illuminate in this story.
Sometimes when you experience something new, it unsettles you and reveals the problems in your life that previously went unnoticed.
The highest highs are often met with the lowest lows and understanding this balance helps us understand our needs and desires.
The second I decided to make a change I opened myself up physically and energetically to all possibilities. I did not question what could happen or live in fear of what could go wrong. I allowed the flow of rapid change to take me.
Things can always get better and this often starts with recognizing how good they already are.
We are our own locked doors, whether it's our core beliefs, our narratives which restrict us, or our fears of scarcity which control us. We are also our own keys to freedom, through awareness, letting go, and tuning into love and abundance.
Our energy goes where our attention flows, and where we put this energy is our true magic and personal power.
Trust your gut- if something doesn't feel right (psychically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally) it is up to you to change it!
Flow from love, not from fear, there is abundance for all if we tap into it and get out of our own way.
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