Many of you may know that I am back in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica after an incredible month of traveling through Panama and Colombia. My return to this magical jungle town has been a bittersweet reunion. Distance always makes the heart grow fonder, but being back I am reminded of the fine line Puerto Viejo sails between love and hate, heaven and hell.
How life here can be as nourishing as a mother’s womb, or as empty and cold as a concrete cell.
How everyone is accepted, yet every action is scrutinized.
Where crossing an unknown path can bring you high up on a mountain, or down low in a ditch.
And here, like everywhere, it is a choice.
I have seen many lost souls, running from something, someone, usually themselves, seek refuge, replacement, in the beauty, the community, the party that is Puerto Viejo.
Some cure their own cancer, others drink themselves to death.
Some find soul mates, others become disillusioned with love.
Some become balanced, peaceful, happy, while others tumble in a whirlwind of drama.
And when I see the negative effects of this town I love, on the people I love, it hurts me.
It hurts me because I know this place can heal.
Since my return, friends of mine have surrounded themselves in negativity. Fighting with one another in a way that I view as hurtful, useless, a waste of the precious time that we are afforded on Earth.
Some of them simply cannot see how much they are truly hurting each other, and in turn hurting themselves.
So today, I am asking them, and I am asking all of you, to send nothing to others, to the atmosphere, to your own soul, but love.
And ask yourselves…
When someone hurts you
do you hurt them back?
Do you spend your time
analyzing
gossiping
obsessing
over everything
that makes them
so
much
less
than you?
Could it be
that they are human
and they love
and they hurt
just like you do
even
if they did something
that made you
feel so low?
Do you want to be
someone
who sees the anger
the threat
the negativity
in a person
and brings them down
or someone
who sees the fear
the insecurity
the humanity
in each of us
and lifts them up?
Do you want to spend your time
your energy
punishing
someone else
for breaking you
when instead
you could be loving yourself back to whole?
Because it’s the people who hurt us most
who teach us most.
And you are not the one
to teach someone else
the lesson.
You are the one
to learn.
So look inside.
At your thoughts
your feelings
your actions
reactions
and learn to soften
learn to grow
learn to love.
Because life is too beautiful
and too short
for anything else.
Thank you, my dear ‘Cocoa-Butta Girl’. I miss you and love you more than you can imagine, – Aunt Barbara
I love and miss you! Come visit me on a beach somewhere 🙂
Thank you for your beautiful post. Its just what I needed to read this morning. Just know that your gift is helping others heal. Please continue to share your lovely thoughts.
Thank you Jenny. You are so sweet. It is very encouraging to hear.
This post couldn’t be more relevant for me this morning. Thank you for helping me let go. Soften.
Thank you for reading Aubrey. I hope that in writing what is relevant for me, my posts speak to you. Keep on loving.
Right on…
🙂
so true. i struggle here often.
We all do. Thanks for your honesty. Remember, everything in life is a practice.
Shit-Damn u can write!
Haha. Thanks Darryl.
This is lovely! These are powerful words to carry into the new year.
Thank you Abiella!
Thank you for the oh so wise & thoughtful reminder. Love always wins. Peace!
You’re welcome! Namaste.
Wow!!!!!!!!!! Your timing frightens me. You always write something that makes me have epiphanies. Thank you, thank you, thank you for writing so beautifully!!!
BTW, I found you through Canyoustayfordinner and I am so glad I have you two to read 🙂
Erika, you are too kind. Thank you thank you thank you for reading 🙂
I like this. Today, as a tired mom, I found myself getting frustrated by my young son’s indecision about something. I wasn’t shouting, but I was far from being my best self. I grew frustrated, and found myself saying to him, “you know, the more I think about this, the madder I get.”
And he said, with the worldly wisdom that all children have and that most of us lose as we age, “then why don’t you stop thinking about it?”.
And I laughed. And I stopped thinking about it. 🙂
I love your story Lynn. Sometimes the simple answer is the best answer! If you don’t like what you’re thinking, what you’re doing, how you’re feeling, then stop! You might not be able to control the outside world, but you absolutely have the power to decide what happens inside of you. What a wise little one you have 🙂