There is an old saying; We don’t know what we don’t know.
What do you need, I mean really need? There comes a place in time in one’s life, where you may come to realize it is a lot less than what we may have thought. Definitely, it is a lot less than what western standards are used to.
Living in a place where the humidity is high and elements are fierce, things rust in a matter of months, materials disintegrate to become pieces of nests built for the next generation. Simply put, there are daily reminders, even if subliminal, that remind us too that one day we shall be the dust that blows in the wind. It is the melancholy nature of life and we are in its full swing, even if, but slow and gentle, she runs her course with the sands of the hour glass in their timeless dance together we find ourselves.
And so with this last in mind, the advice that follows if you do wish to make the transition into this dance, is to come and live simply. And in six months time, then decide what you miss, what you’ve left behind, what might make your life better in the tropics. I doubt it will be much of what physical things you’ve left behind. It is our attachments to things that weigh us down. Our attachment to ideas or “our craving for things to exist in a very particular way,” that can also create inflexibility.
Over the years many expats, especially on Facebook, ask what one needs to bring to live comfortably here. We see people moving whole shipping containers of items, only to realize that in three years they have never used them and end up selling the stuff or giving it away. They thought life would be much the same and it is not. The people who miss it, all don’t stay. The people who stay, don’t miss it. They usually also don’t see shopping as entertainment, they don’t need the never ever upgrades (always the latest and the greatest). They don’t need to stay busy.
What reflects in go lightly, live slowly is, to take the position of going with the flow. It’s about adjusting one’s self to the surroundings to observe them, taking time to wander and to find the wonder, it’s a reflective pose, not passive but rather one of internal peace. Slow living isn’t about determining how little we can live with, it’s about working out what we simply can’t live without. And simplicity is not about deprivation. Simplicity is about a greater appreciation for the “things” that really matter.
And so, living here in southern Costa Rica is about valuing the rhythm of life, noting the patterns in nature, the observation of changes, making deeper friendships, nurturing what brings you joy, and finding peace in each day. It is the basis of go lightly, live slowly.
