for the last month, i have had difficulty writing. and sleeping, and socializing…etc. i realized that my energy had ground down to a zero and stress had been taking a toll. while i’ve been coping with this dilemma, my dear friend mary wade has been spending the last ten weeks traveling and teaching in costa rica, stays in touch and reminds me of my promise to visit her when she took this trip of a lifetime. i only had four nights and five days to escape to this central american paradise, but i had been there twice before and knew that past trips to the country always energized me. costa rica’s beauty is rivaled only by the warmth of the people who live there. In fact, according a new york times piece, three different studies show that costa ricans are rated the happiest folks on the planet. with all of our riches, the us came in a mere 18th and 20th of all countries in terms of happiness.

why are costa ricans so much happier than we are? well for one, the costa rican landscape, whether in the mountains or by the sea is beautiful. however, i’m sure that the happiness quota found by costa ricans also has much to do with their lack of an army and the government’s commitment to promote education instead. it’s not just the physical beauty of the country that keep costa ricans happy. i also believe that the happiness comes from the embracement of peace as a way of life.

i made quick plans to leave. not surprisingly, within 48 hours of being in costa rica, i felt a major revitalization going on. i was not at the mercy of phones, or deadlines and i only checked 30 minutes of emails per day, usually first thing each morning. there were more important things to do, like hear about mary’s experiences living in the mountains with the quaker community and spending time at the university of peace where she shared her skills as a minister with a phd in conflict resolution. mary used to work for the united nations and had been a part of the initial talks to create a university of peace in costa rica. twenty years later at almost age 70, mary was able to see the result of these meetings. when i wasn’t listening to mary’s stories, i took long walks on the beach daily, meditated, ate fresh fish, vegetables, rice and beans and looked at the colorful jewelry in the stores of the beachtown of jaco where we stayed. by day three i’m starting to feel back to my old self, conversing not only with mary but all kinds of great folks that I came across during my daily walks on the beach and at the cafes where i treated myself to several cups of café con leche.

how does one operate in the real world while living in paradise? after all, the online world of social media is a fact of life for most people outside of third world areas. my next blog post will feature some folks who figured out a way…