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!
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