January 2015 Garden Village
Mi cuerpo, mi corazón, mi mente, mi alma y espirito son juntos aquí.
At Garden Village, my mind regularly returns to a smiling question: “How am I here? How does it happen that my desires are continually manifesting?”
I end my evening sitting in a swaying hammock, rocking me into a calm, settled state. As I close my eyes, my senses focus on the falling rain that taps its fingers on the roof overhead, a subtle touch to softly carry me to the outside edges of the land. A welcomed silence has hushed us all; night humming her easy lullaby. There is a quality of comfort in knowing I am living on the wild land. The plants, animals, and elements are as much a part of this home as the tables and tents.
I feel occupied only by being; able to ease into a place of quiet reflection and contemplation. It is as if I have been here for years and am feeling the preface to nostalgia. Even though my time in Costa Rica has been a week, it feels as though I am recording memories stretched out beyond true timeline. I am no longer a stranger. I am a member of a family beyond bloodlines.
Though the jungle lures my soul in a new way, the experiences that are most salient revolve around the connections to this sense of tribalism. An ancient energy exists, and as each moment unfolds there is revealing of the power here.
The abundance of life, the ever-playing soundscape, the rivers and ruggedness all act as reminders that there is something present that is much larger than me. I bow to this wildness and seek to slip with ease into her ecstasy.
Sooner than expected, we were able to connect with a neighbor who knows this land and emanates a respect for the life here. His name is Manuel. Susannah was wonderful in initiating this opportunity. He gifts us with a tour of the jungle, an exploration of the edges of our home. We hike into la selva and it is an immediate coup of the senses. Manuel shares his knowledge of the plants and ancient indigenous tradition with the land. My Spanish acts as a way to immediately connect with Manuel and my new family, and I feel so happy to be using the language of the locals. We navigate the curvature of the river and make our way to la junta of the 2 rivers; el rio destiero y el rio Perla. Here we rest and breathe in the beauty. Another trip planned for the future to continue the exploration.
The next day, we harvested sugar cane to juice in the new hand-crank cane press. Holding the machete in my hands, cutting away the roots and earth, I felt a connection to my own primal roots. It is as if my body is remembering the rightness in the direct interaction with the land. My body is covered in sweat, soil, and a sense of initiation into the past.
There is no doubt that the universe has a purpose in my being here, and I hold gratitude for this gift and the stewardship of Susannah and Larry.