So I have been home now for 2 days from our vacation in Costa Rica and I wish I could return. I haven't felt this low and unmotivated in a long time. I guess you could say that we have returned from the mountaintop to the valley and I am feeling it. There is a phrase that Costa Ricans (Ticos) live by..."Pura Vida" and it means "Pure Life". It would seem to me that in Costa Rica this would be manageable. The Pure and Simple Life is easily attainable in the culture that we experienced, or so it would seem. But life here back in the states often seems like "Complicada Vida" (Complicated Life). With financial pressures, cultural lifestyle pressures, starting a new church, managing our relationships, raising kids, meeting the needs of others, personal time for God and yourself, the list could go on and on...you get the picture...it can get comlicated sometimes.
This last week in Costa Rica has led me to think a lot about what I do and who I am. I spend a lot of my time running around spending time with people but I often find myself giving myself away, often when there is nothing left to give. I came to the conclusion that I do not spend enough time in study, in prayer, and simply just putting away distractions. I allow distractions in my life for fear that I might miss something Big or Important. But, I am learning that these distractions are merely distractions from what is really important. I am missing what is important. I need to be a man of prayer and study. I should be devoting much more time to thinking, reading, writing, and teaching. It's a call back to Pura Vida. A simple and pure task for what I should be doing in life.
What would Pura Vida look like for you?
