Pura Vida! A Reflection of How Pura Vida Came to Life for Me in 2014

Pura Vida!!!

Directly translated into English, Pura Vida means "Pure Life", but for the people of Costa Rica there is a deeper meaning. The essence of Pura Vida is that no matter how bad your current life situation, someone somewhere has it worse. So maybe, if you really think about it, your situation isn't all that bad after all. And in the end, life is short; life is wonderful. So start living your life! Witnessing and experiencing "Pura Vida" all over Costa Rica made me reflect on my life and how, out of the blue, I decided to visit Costa Rica. So to end the last few hours of 2014, I think that a personal reflection post is quite appropriate.

2014 has been fantastically wonderful. Then again, when is being just plain alive not fantastically wonderful? In particular, the last few months have been a whirlwind of wonderfulness as I planned my around-the-world trip. For those that weren't aware, I had grand plans to quit my job in January and buy a one-way ticket to Tanzania where I would teach 15-22 year olds about business and leadership. Then I would climb Kilimanjaro and travel around the world indefinitely until 1) I got bored or 2) I ran out of money. I'm pretty sure the latter would have happened first though. By an odd twist of fate, the day I was looking for my one-way flight, I was contacted by a recruiter. 16-days later, I landed my dream job that was a blend of all my passions: food, health & nutrition, and a global role. My grand plans for a year of worldly adventures came to a halt, but I still needed to travel somewhere to lightly scratch that travel itch. Fast forward, I landed in Costa Rica where I was immersed into the Pura Vida lifestyle and began reflecting on how Pura Vida came to life for me in 2014. 

• Planning an around-the world trip despite being pretty slightly freaked out about the idea of being incomeless and aimlessly wandering the world with no real plans
• Dropping all those plans when my dream job landed in my lap 
• Losing my Burning Man virginity and being able to share those experiences with friends old and new 
• Doing my first Yoga handstand while my sister stood at my side cheering me on 
• Backpacking the Lost Coast in California for my birthday with close friends
• Camping in Yosemite for the first time... And learning that I can survive the freezing 35 degree nights... :) 
• Witnessing the beauty and power of heavy rainfalls as I hiked through both Zion and Bryce during a torrential rainstorm
• Learning to make bread from scratch and, in the process, realizing that keeping yeast alive is quite a challenge
• Experiencing the worst sea sickness ever while deep sea fishing then being rewarded with fresh salmon
• Creating lasting memories with the amazing people in my life

Looking forward to 2015, I definitely want to continue to keep Pura Vida alive. On my bucket list for 2015:

• Learn Spanish--probably a good idea to learn the language that is spoken at so many countries that I adore
• Learn to be a Barista--Coffee. Yum!
• Experience Tomorrowland in Belgium--supposedly the best music festival EVER so why not right?
• Learn to play the guitar or maybe the sax... or both?
• Work on a farm--milking a cow sounds kind of cool don't you think?
• Kick @$$ at my new job
• Continue to blog about tasty eats and my worldly adventures

How was your 2014? And how will you ensure that Pura Vida is a part of your 2015? 

Pura Vida!!