Costa Rica calling…she has always called to me. Although I have only spent time in the country on one occasion, the experience has stayed with me. It permeates my being in a way; so much so that Costa Rica inspired me to set my latest novel, Pura Vida, there. Before going there, I sensed that this little island was a spiritual portal; all of this was confirmed when I visited the island. Now, I am at a time in my life where I feel called to return to Costa Rica.
The Pure Life…
But first, it’s important to go back more than a decade when this little tropical paradise was first brought to my attention. Several peculiar instances directed me to visit this island oasis. I can’t even call it guidance because the messages were so persistent that I couldn’t ignore them. They were more like directives leading me to my destiny, one that is unfolding as we speak.
Several years ago, long before I had every visited the country, I was in the market to buy a new home. I would visit potential neighborhoods where I was considering buying and would drop in to view open houses. At this time in my life, I felt that buying a really big, opulent home would be just the thing to fill an enormous void which I was feeling. While driving around the area, I stopped at this very small country-like convenience store to grab a drink. When I approached the register to pay there was a very large man—almost 7 foot tall, with hands that looked like he could palm a watermelon—waiting to ring up my drink. I walked up to pay, and he asked, “Have you ever been to Costa Rica?”
I turned to gaze around the store, wondering who he was talking to, when I noted that I was the only customer in the store—he was definitely directing this question towards me.
“No, I haven’t,” I responded.
“You need to go.”
The message was so direct; it took me off-guard.
“Are you from Costa Rica?” I asked him, thinking he must twilight as a Costa Rican tour guide.
“No. I am from Iran. I have never been to Costa Rica.”
“Then why are you telling me to go?”
“Something is waiting there for you. It’s important that you go.”
I paid for my drink and exited the store. It all seemed so strange to me. The entire encounter took less than one minute, but for the next few weeks the message kept circulating in my mind. I wondered, “What is waiting for me in Costa Rica?”
From that day forward, little signs began appearing. One night in between one of my comedy shows I decided to go for a walk on a perfect spring evening. As I was walking alone, I looked down to the sidewalk and written in the concrete were the words, “Costa Rica.” I stood over these words, shaking my head as I thought, “Costa Rica again.”
Weeks later, I returned to the same neighborhood to walk through an open house when once again I decided to stop by the convenience store to get drink. Again, no other customer was in the store. I walked to the counter and the same man stood before me. Without missing a beat, he said, “Have you gone to Costa Rica yet?”
I stopped in my tracks—he remembered me. This seemed unusual.
“No, I haven’t gone to Costa Rica yet,” I responded.
“It’s very important that you go to Costa Rica.”
I had to ask once again, “Do you tell everyone this?”
“This message is for you. Go to Costa Rica.”
I walked out of the store. The sun was shining especially brightly that day. I remember it was a beautiful day—almost perfect on the outside—however, inside I was conflicted. I was conflicted about life. I was very unhappy at this stage of my life. I was in that mid-life stage where everything I had built seemed only to take me further away from myself. On the outside, I was terminally successful—on the inside, I had lost that inner spark that many call “purpose”. I got into my car and just sat there. I didn’t start the car to drive away; I slumped in my seat and asked myself two pressing questions:
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“What am I doing with my life?”
“What’s the point of all of this?”
At that time, they were questions that I couldn’t answer. There I sat in the parking lot thinking that everything which I thought would make me happy—didn’t. All that I had attained—material possessions, perceived status, career achievement, even—dare I say it; family. Everything that was supposed to bring me happiness did nothing to fill the void that I was feeling inside. And the worse part, I knew that I was the only one to blame for this and I was the only one who could set myself free. (I wrote my first eBook, The Way of the Butterfly, at that time in my life. It’s free to download here.)
I had reached a crossroads in my life and knew that in order to find happiness I was going to need to course correct and head in an entirely new direction. It was scary. I understood that it would take a whole lot of time and energy to heal my life. I knew that if I began changing the things that most tormented me then everything around me was about to change in a drastic way. I had a really big life decision to make and no one could help me do it. I had to reclaim my life and my passion—anything short of this would lead down the path of feeling incomplete. At a primal level, I also fundamentally understood that I had to get to Costa Rica. The only question was: How?
