Life's Alarm Clock

So I want to start this off by saying thank you.  Thank you to those who have been supporting me on this journey however they've been able to; there is still some time left before my trip to raise more funds and just sort out some things, but I'm truly grateful for all of the support I've been given.

Instead of really talking about this journey to Costa Rica, I'm going to tell you what goes through my head every time I think about it.  Charity.  Change.  Adventure.  Freedom.  Simplicity.  I could go on and on with descriptive adjectives about my thoughts, but those about sum it up.  I look back at the last few years of my life and I've realized something: I've given ten years of my days on this Earth to the same job.  TEN YEARS!!! Putting it into perspective, I'm about to turn 33 while being in Costa Rica, so that essentially means I've given a third of my life to one company.  The only other institution or group who had those many consecutive years of my being has been my family, and I can promise you they probably weren't my best ones.  Being the youngest sibling did have some advantages to it.  ;-) 

Yet it's been over these last five years that I've been able to take advantage of some solitude within these years of employment and just discover what makes me tick and what I want to do to help contribute to this globe.  I've written about this topic before, but I am a person of signs and energy; for whatever reason, I feel that life is trying to point me in a clearer direction.  Why has it taken me so long to see this?  I really don't know.  It could be because I was in a dark place for years, or perhaps I didn't have the vision necessary to see what life was laying before me.  Perhaps I was just too scared to question my life. 

Do I have the answers to all of life's questions and mysteries?  I wish I did, yet I'm glad I don't.  It allows there to be adventures, challenges and even uncertainties presented to us all.  I don't know what Costa Rica will bring, but I do feel that it will be an important stepping stone to getting me closer to that ledge that holds God only knows what.  I have to admit right now that I'd be lying if I said I'm ready to take the leap and just see where I land; I'm still working things out to where I can, but as a consequence of setting my earlier nomadic ways aside, I've picked up a few permanent and semi-permanent stragglers along the way.  I have to have faith though that this adventure will only bring me good and that for whatever reason, perhaps it's all meant to be played out this way.

I hope that throughout this whole process and my writings of it, you will perhaps walk away from it all with your own sense of growth.  I want to not only share this adventure with you, but I also want you to look into yourselves and see what makes you happy.  If you're already doing everything that brings you joy then I'm elated for you!!!  Maybe you can offer me some tips!  And for those who are searching just as I am, I say to you this: don't ever stop striving for that happiness.  It could be in front of you this whole time, or perhaps in a far off land or in another job, but never think that you don't deserve to be or pursue whatever makes you happy. 

As for me, I know I'm content with my life and consider myself very fortunate; however my spirit needs to be fed and nourished through way it only know how to be.  So come join me!  Let's take this journey together, even if our paths are very different, we can all still use each others love and support to carry on.   

Connection Overload

I don't know how I should feel about time becoming more and more of a luxury these days; it's just surprising that to write a blog I've got to wake up even earlier to do it.  It's made me see something that perhaps I've been in denial about: whether we like it or not, we tend to keep ourselves busy.  More and more as the days go on it feels to me that we have less time to ourselves, if not due to personal obligations, it's family or work or a plethora of other things.  The point of it being one simple observation: are we putting whatever time we do have to good use?

Recently I saw the movie "Mona Lisa Smile."  I hadn't seen it in a good minute and being the Julia Roberts junkie that I am, it's in my little DVD collection.  After watching it I remembered right away why I liked it so much: in my humble opinion, it's about someone seeking life and adventure in what others may see as an unconventional way of sorts.  In other words, I'd call Julia Robert's character a kind of life seeker, one who moves to their own beat, flows with the currents of their own inner tides and a perpetual idealist. 

As the years have gone by in my life, I've continued to tap back into that old spirit of mine, the one I had let gather dust for so long while allowing the lives of others to take more of a precedent over my own.  This year in particular has shown me just that point; it's taken me around six months to finally be able to regain control of my time, schedule and life needs and wants... I'm not gonna lie to you.  It feels good. 

With my birthday approaching in a little under three months, I continue to strive to nurture that spirit I once held with such conviction and passion; everyday I look at as a way to learn more from life and to continue to learn how to focus on myself.  I have to keep reminding that inner voice in my head that it's not selfish to take the time to focus on one's self, but necessary.

All of this comes full circle on my trip to Costa Rica.  I love it so much when people ask me why I'm traveling there!  Every time I bring it up, I ramble on like a little kid waiting desperately for Santa to bring him the newest Play Station for Christmas.  The last conversation that Costa Rica was mentioned I remember comparing the journey to the transcendentalists of old and applying their thoughts and beliefs to my current endeavor. 

Yes, some people probably are thinking that this is a vacation, but it's far from that.  This trip to Costa Rica is as bare bones as you can get. essentially sleeping in the middle of nowhere, with very little, if any, modern day luxuries that we use on a day to day basis.  No hot water, wifi, power, cell signal (except for spotty satellite coverage for emergencies).  Yet it's that simplicity that attracts me to it all; toss in there the main driver of this adventure, good works and a temporary paradise appears.

If I could wrap this whole last conversation I had into two thoughts, they would be good works and simplicity; these two points are two very important mantras of transcendentalist writers.  By talking more and more about this trip, I've been able to continually find more focus on what drives me, and as the weeks have passed on, I've finally been able to narrow it down to those two words.

All that said, the simplicity of this whole adventure may be the catalyst for some possible life changes, all I can do is to continue to seek my own inner truth through all of the noise that surrounds me in my life.

If you wish to see how my trip planning and fund raising is going, I invite you to continue reading my blog and check out my Fund My Travel Campaign: Cents for Sea Turtles. 

Thanks again for reading!

The Date Approaches and Lists Are Tweaked

So as the clock ticks closer to September my spirit and energy for this volunteering trip has grown stronger!  Like I've said before, this isn't so much a vacation by any stretch of the imagination, but a bare bones journey to some kind of path I've been seeking.  I usually tend to get excited about my trips, as would I'm sure anyone who plans some kind of adventure, but this one is different; every time I think of it I don't think of just those few weeks, but perhaps a longer run at a nomadic life of volunteer work. 

I try to keep my excitement under some kind of control because knowing me, not keeping a tight wrap on my emotions will just lead me to living in the future.  This venture is unlike any I've taken before; my friends and anyone willing to listen to me sometimes get lost in this almost romanticized idea of what my time as a volunteer will be.  People think Costa Rica and so many extraordinary images come to mind!!  But let's not forget the mosquitoes that can pester you or the howler monkeys that will keep you awake with their voices.  Yes, the exotic imagery that comes with the name of Costa Rica is absolutely wonderful, but to me it's the adventure as a whole that excites me, monkeys and mosquitoes included.

With the discovery of all those critters, I had to readjust my list of provisions.  I thought I had mostly everything, but it seems that I was a bit off on that estimate.  The items that I'm trying to save up for are a much lighter 3 season sleeping bag, an LED with night vision (red) bulb headlamp, mosquito nets, and lighter material shoe/boots.

I'm doing my best to raise all of this on my own, but at the same time, these items can be a pricey; add to that the total cost of the trip and it can be a bit of a struggle to gather everything I need to help with this community and its cause.  I'm trying to put some ideas into fruition right now to help raise some funds, but I'm reaching to anyone out there: if by some chance you have any of the items I just stated available to lend to a simple traveler, even if just temporarily, it would be greatly appreciated!

Life's been just a wee bit, okay, wildly chaotic lately, but I'm going to try and update this blog more frequently in the very near future.  I'd like to keep anyone interested in my journey up to speed with everything going on; you're just as big a part of this as I am.  Although I'll be alone, I'll have you all in spirit with me and it'll be my honor to share this whole experience with you all.