In previous posts, which have since been incorporated into my book, “If She Can Do It, So Can I !” I spoke of inner reflections, aroused by my move to Costa Rica. I called them my Inner Journey. Here is my latest.

       When I was 18 I lived with my boyfriend. We wanted to ski. So in order to afford it, we worked second shift, in the new Zenith TV factory they’d just put in, outside Philadelphia. The hourly wage was higher than anywhere around – how things have changed! The factory was almost two hours away from our apartment in Allentown. In the morning we got up and drove an hour north to ski in the Poconos, then headed back home and south, to be at work by 3:00 p.m. All winter, we ripped up those snowy hills. We worked and played and we were on the road six hours a day. Now, I can’t imagine keeping a schedule like that.
       Today I get up with some idea of what I want to do for the day. I exercise, write a bit and then see what the day brings. I may do art work, go to the beach, work on a project for my kids (my daughter and her boyfriend), or take a trip to the waterfall. How things have changed. I feel almost a bit self indulgent, admitting that I live a life of leisure. But I do and I relish every moment.
       Looking back on the stages in life, I see that in our twenties we are busy trying to figure it all out. Those years fly by in a flurry of study, experimentation and jubilation in the freedom of adulthood. Going into our thirties we become creators – of business and of home and family. In our forties our creations come to fruition. And, in our fifties, as our children begin the stage we left far behind, we stop and say, “Wow! Look what I’ve done.” It is a rich, full life with triumphs and regrets. Then we say, “Now what?”
       Most of us go through these stages, more or less. And many simply follow the form set forth by their parents and society around them. I started out that way, too. Then, in my early twenties I experienced a pivotal moment that changed my life. I can still picture it in my mind. I was sitting on the tippy top of a mountain in New Hampshire, at the end of a week’s backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail, reveling in the view. The next day was our last and I didn’t want to go home. I cried! I cried in frustration with the idea that in our world, people are tied to their jobs for eight hours a day, fifty weeks of the year and then they get a vacation. One or two weeks of freedom, that’s all. And it’s back to work. At that moment I resolved with all my heart and inner strength that I was not going to live like that. I am proud to say that I have kept that commitment. Most all my life I’ve worked for myself, took time off when I wanted and made sure to be there for my kids when they needed me.
       Maybe young adulthood is the time to blast through life and get as much done as possible. Admittedly, age is a factor here. I used to be able to party all night and go to work the next morning. Now I’m hardly ever up after midnight (unless there is some really good Salsa dancing going on). Nevertheless, I am a vital and active person, far from the age of retirement. The major significance of age, in this equation, is that thirty years of life experience is what brought me here, to this life in the slow lane. I think the issue of time and schedules has more to do with one’s perspective than with age. I’m talking about the quality of life.
       I’ve seen so many people lose sight of their dreams and forget who they are, caught up in life’s daily demands. The classic stereotype of the businessman who never takes time to stop and smell the roses has overtaken our entire society. And with the help of the advertising media telling us all what we need, those with the best of intentions, find themselves running on a hamster wheel, with every waking moment scheduled. Do you work for a living? Most would say they do. I don’t. I’ve reversed the traditionally taught concept most people believe. I live for work and I live for play and everything in between, but life comes first – not work.
       This is a choice we all can make, at any moment, in any stage of our lives. We all have different aspirations. If living at a fast pace is what trips your trigger, then good for you. We all have different desires. I was never too concerned with material things, yet me and my kids lived a satisfying life in Montana. We had a nice house, good food and friends, good schools and an amazing outdoor playground. For many years my income would have been considered below poverty level, yet looking at it from the perspective of the country in which I now live, we were rich!
       And I still feel rich. I actually live on the five hundred dollars a month rental income I get from my home in Montana. And it is not because Costa Rica is that cheap. The overall cost of living in Costa Rica is a bit lower than the States, but in the tourist area where I live, food costs as much as it does at home. I live on five hundred dollars a month because that is what I’ve got. With the same staunch resolve as when, in my youth, I decided nobody would own my time, I committed to finding a way to do it. I made it work by being creative and changing my standard of living. Note that I said change, not lower. I now live in a little room with a makeshift kitchen and I am quite content. To read about my sweet little home and see pictures, CLICK HERE.
       As always, once a person makes such a firm decision, the universe shows the way. You don’t have to know how you are going to do it, all you have to know is that you are going to do it. That’s enough. Then things begin to line up. Someone makes a novel suggestion, this leads to that, you follow a hunch and before you know it you are there, living your dreams! Not that it doesn’t take work, not that it’s always easy, but the hardest part is the commitment to yourself. Once you’ve done that, the rest will evolve.
       Life in Costa Rica is good for me. I am living exactly the life I want. Regardless of my outer circumstances, I seem to always have an underlying feeling of contentment. I’m not stressed, nor anxious or under pressure of any kind, like I frequently felt, living in the United States. I’m just plain happy! Oh, I have more dreams. I want to see Colombia and Ecuador. I want to meet my soul mate. I want a house on a hill, overlooking the ocean, with an infinity pool. They’ll all come true and then there will be more. Such is life.
       In the mean time, I’ll keep on living this blissful life in the tropics and writing all about it, in the hopes of provoking thought and inspiration. You see, I want your dreams to come true, too.

There are many ways to follow your dreams. Here is a link to a video about one family who is a shining example. (The video is after the commercials.) CLICK HERE.