The rainforest in Central America taught me a wonderful lesson: if you can quiet yourself and truly focus your attention on your surroundings, you will see a multitude of things that were seemingly invisible. To view the wonders that the rainforest offers takes increased attention and awareness. The obvious analogy to life is that heightened awareness will gift us a life that offers to intrigue us, to expand our horizons and offer new sources of joy.

My two teenagers and I traveled to Costa Rica recently for a 10-day vacation filled with adventure and discovery, not to mention a break from the routine. I had arranged the trip with a wonderful tour company so that we had a personal guide with us for the majority of the trip. Our trip had all been pre-arranged and included a tour of the capital, a visit to a butterfly farm, four days on the majestic Pacific coast where we snorkeled, paddled an outrigger canoe, went deep sea fishing and scuba diving and travel to the Arenal Volcano where we explored the rainforest by hiking and zip-lining on a canopy tour. These were but some but not all of our activities.

The guide who really opened my eyes was a sweet, cherubic Costa Rican named Constantino. He picked us up in his van at our hotel on the coast and spent four days traveling with us to the area of the Arenal Volcano and then on to San Jose, the capital city. Constantino has a deep respect and sense of awe at the nature that surrounds him. He has kept the delight and wonder of childhood alive in himself. His knowledge of the land is immense. He seemed to know all there was to know about his country and it’s history as well as everything that makes up the natural world in Costa Rica. He regaled us with stories. His life lessons were endless but the one that stands out the most for me was his lesson of awareness while in the forest.

The creatures that we had discovered on the Pacific coast were both new and amazing but I told the kids that in the wet forest (all the forests in Costa Rica are so-called rainforests but some are dry and some are wet) we would see even more. We had been in the wet forest in the Arenal area for a day or so when they mentioned to Constantino that they really hadn’t seen much wildlife at all in that dense jungle. That is when our man in Costa Rica gave us his very wise insights on awareness.

What he said to us was this: You can walk through the rainforest for an hour and think that there is little or no wildlife there but that is far from the truth. The forest is extremely deep and dense and many of the creatures that reside there are camouflaged for their own protection. You need to concentrate your attention and stop to really look. For instance, as you walk you could be totally unaware of the howler monkeys scurrying through the treetops. It is only when you stop and listen that you will hear the sounds that they make jumping from branch to branch. Even then you need to fix your gaze intently on the canopy of the forest to notice their presence. When you do, suddenly you become aware of the life that exists on the roof of the rainforest. Monkeys everywhere!

Page 1 of 3 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 3 | Next