This morning I was abruptly awakened before 5:30 am to the sounds of what I can only imagine to be monkeys in the trees just above my house. I am living within a natural ecosystem. Last night as I was watching the sun go down, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, what was either the largest rodent I have ever seen or an armadillo. This gave me pause (literally) to think that all of this is the natural order of things, nature and its infinite variety of species all coexisting together.
As humans, we have relentlessly continued to develop and dominate our environment to the point around us that we have become completely alarmed at a simple bug in our surroundings. I am trying to let go of all this and strip away my modern cultural conditioning and learn to simply be here amidst all of these strange and foreign species and not immediately react out of fear.
Yesterday, in the course of just one single day, my fourth in Costa Rica, I encountered countless new and exotic species of birds, monkeys, a huge iguana, a white crane and what still remains a mystery, a rat or armadillo.
As is already becoming my natural morning routine, I headed to the water to meet the morning and was greeted by cool temperatures and a gentle breeze. I made my way through the heavily forested area up to the sand path that led to the water. I didn’t see another soul on the beach.
I wondered how is it possible that in all my journeys and experiences, in all of my challenges over the last 15 months, the many days that seemed to be too much to handle; after such a long road, how is it possible that I am here in this very moment of pure meditation on a completely empty and tranquil coastline in Costa Rica watching the sun slowly make its way up from behind the trees?
In Costa Rica, the priority of enjoying the day is more important than productivity on any front.
Follow Kirk’s Adventure from the start:
- The Start – Five years ago I was quietly living in a small 1100 square-foot home just outside my native hometown of Austin, Texas.
- Day 1 – My journey to Costa Rica, the Rich Coast, began at 4 AM on a crisp Sunday morning.
- Day 2 – Arrival into Costa Rica was quite smooth and seamless compared to my recent experiences in Japan where things are done to another level of precision and detail
- Day 3 – This morning I woke naturally at 5am as the light was already beginning to make its way through my window.
- Day 4 – There is a stretch of beach to the estuary across from Tamarindo where I picked up two native branches that washed onto shore that will make great writing or painting brushes.
- Day 5 – Last night I drifted off to sleep while reading The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.
- Day 6 – I heard the morning songs of exotic birds I had never heard before
- Day 7 – I have been quickly reminded once again that one can starve in Costa Rica if one does not know the local routine
About the Author
Kirk Lee is a Writer, Meditation teacher and nomad currently living in Costa Rica. Kirk has been an explorer on the journey for over 25 years having traveled to 14 countries culminating in a year living in Kyoto, Japan. Kirk writes about travel through the lens of simplicity and kindness to be found in people and places of every culture. Explore Kirk’s travel journals at https://zenandink.substack.com/
