This morning I say adios to the end of a great year and bienvenidos to the start of a new one.  I always begin a new year by remembering what was accomplished during the previous one.  I believe the thing that was most notable in the year just ended is that I began to understand more of “what” I am supposed to be doing here in Costa Rica.  People come here from the U.S. and other countries for varied reasons.  Usually we expats are running from something….the law, ex-wives, the taxman, or just to escape the “rat-race” that life in the U.S. sometimes resembles.  But I am beyond the “why” I came here.  That is past history and none of that can be changed. Events transpired in my life, most of which were the results of my own decision-making, that directed me to this far away place that before 2001 I had never even heard of.  I am a firm believer in destiny….that we all have one.  Most of us spend our lives resisting it, usually for reasons of practicality.  It is just not always practical to pursue one’s destiny.  There are bills to pay.  Mouths to feed.  And you know, you gotta take out the garbage.  Life just gets in the way.  Pretty soon we allow life to direct our course in no particular direction and that is exactly where we end up, nowhere.  And we chalk it all up to being “responsible adults.”  I don’t believe that is what was intended for us.  I believe it was destiny that placed me in Costa Rica and I am exactly where I am supposed to be.  Problem is while I have been here for the past years I have not always been doing what I am suppose to be doing.  For much of the time I have been wandering around with a self-applied blindfold groping for the right direction.  Well in 2008 I believe that direction began to make itself more clear.  You see the truth is we never find our destiny as long as we make it all (life, that is) about us.  The paradox is that the relentless pursuit of self-gratification never is very gratifying, at least not in the long-term.  I see so many that come here with that in mind….that Costa Rica is the paradise where there will be easy living and lots of pleasure.  Sure enough you can find all that here.  But I also see so many that become quickly disillusioned with that illusion of Costa Rican paradise.  You see their sad and sullen faces as they sit in smokey bars downtown and while away the hours pursuing absolutely nothing that makes a positive difference for themselves or anyone else.  There is so much good that one can get involved with here.  Personally I want to use the resources that I have been fortunate enough to accumulate (education, experience, a tourism business platform, etc.) to further the cause of sustainable tourism and development because I think that is what I am supposed to do and the way I can make a difference here for the present and the future.  That sense of destiny motivates me and brings me joy.  It ignites my passion.  When you feel that sense of passion your intuition is trying to tell you that you are close to being on, if not squarely on, the right track.  You may have to adjust some things here and there, but at least you are moving in the right general direction.  The aimless wandering around seeking empty and dead-end pleasures, of which there is a never-ending supply, is the wrong course to pursue.  I now feel more than ever a new lease on life.  I am ready to meet this new year head-on and make it the best one ever.  I hope the very same for you.

Feliz Año Nuevo!

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