To say the least it has been a tough last week. I can usually handle the frustrations that Costa Rica and the world throw at me but this just about pushed me over the edge. I promised myself that my frame of mind needed to always remain in the following state….”I would never actually truly believe that anyone was going to do anything that they said and if they did it I would be pleasantly surprised”.
I know that sounds like a terrible way to approach life but in over the past years in Costa Rica I have found that about 70% of the people in the country are completely full of shit. There are so many people that have come down here to leave behind a past that they do not want anyone to know about and to recreate who they are. There is one problem with that, most of them do not change at all other than the fact that they get away with their lies.
Last Friday I went out to try to enjoy the only day off I take per week. After a few hours of work in the morning I shut off my computer, put on my board shorts and take a day to rejuvenate myself. This past Friday I decided to go surf fishing with an acquaintance. That will be how I define this guy as I do not really enjoy being around him due to his OCD personality and continual talking but I thought how much can he talk while fishing…….my mistake to think he would shut up. His incessant chatter and all day drinking was already making my day a little annoying but I was in the ocean and was able to drown him out in the waves.
After fishing for about an hour on the north end of Jaco, I returned to find the rental truck I was driving stolen. Locked inside had been my backpack, passport, bank card, and cellphone. The next couple of hours would be spent cancelling my card and spending time at the OIJ (Costa Rica’s version of the FBI) reporting the stolen vehicle. It was all I could do to not break down and ask God why did he keep putting these challenges in front of me. I know that life is not easy and there are trials and tribulations but when is it finally enough and is someone given a little time to have some breathing room.
I returned to my house angry at the world, at Costa Rica, and at the piece of shit that had taken the vehicle. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent yelling at the sky until my voice was gone. The timber in my yard was cut bashed with the hammer in my hand until I had a blister on my thumb and my arm was too tired to lift it any more. I knew the last thing I needed to do was talk to anyone in the emotional state I was in.
I had gone through finding out the “investor” in my project was a habitual liar that had actually stolen money from
the project we were supposed to be working on together and then although she was in the wrong made me try to feel bad for terminating our partnership. How hard is it to understand that the basis of a business partnership is trust and if that is gone then the partnership is over. Plus I do not work with liars and thieves.
I know that I am too trusting. I truly thought that all people know the difference between right and wrong and will ethically do what is right, but it isn’t true. There is a lot of evil in the world and there are many people that want to destroy other people’s happiness. They want others to be brought into their hell on earth and in many cases they prey on trusting individuals. A prime example is the scammers in Costa Rica. They will take someone’s money and not even think twice. I have heard over and over from these people that “if people are stupid enough to send their money, then they deserve to lose it”. There is a layer of hell waiting for these people and I hope it is their worst nightmare for eternity. With as hard as it is to make money ethically in the world today more and more people are using lies and unethical business practices to steal. This occurs even more in Costa Rica because the legal system in the country is in most cases a complete waste of time to recover what you have lost. The scammers and thieves know the loopholes that allow them to scam the innocent out of their money and never have to repay it.
With all of this negativity in the world and in Costa Rica, many people decide that the frustrations of Costa Rica are just too much for them and either return home or go somewhere else within the first year of being in the country. I hear so many times every day from people that Costa Rica is perfect. For those that have millions of dollars in the bank, or are receiving a $5000 a month pension check, or have enough money to never have to work I am sure it is perfect. For the rest of us working for a living, going through the process of starting a business in Costa Rica, and not being able to buy our way out of Costa Rica frustrations this is a different country.
With all that being said I made a decision last Saturday night after I had calmed down enough to think clearly. Happiness is a decision and although the frustrations will continue to come at you on a daily basis it is how you see these problems that will allow you to either keep a sane mind or be pushed over the edge. I needed to renew my passport anyway in the next year so this just made the date of getting this done move forward. I needed a break from my cell phone for a few days and this gave me that opportunity to get that peace. It was just a cell phone and could be replaced as well as all the negative people in my life would not have the new number. My bank card and access to my funds was able to be accomplished on Monday and not having the card over the weekend saved some money.
Looking back on the past month everything happened for a reason and although the trials I was going through seemed to be a step back instead of a step towards accomplishing my dreams it might have actually been positive instances that just seemed shitty at the moment. I got off a phone call this morning with a friend and lawyer in the USA that went through hard times as well and even had his daughter publically try to destroy his image to capture her 15 minutes of fame. We spoke of how media outlets like the Huffington Post are printing garbage that is directed at the dumbed down population in the USA. We talked about how true friends at any point in your life can be counted on one hand if you are lucky. We talked about when a person is down and out that is when they find out who their true family and friends are. Then I asked him a question.
“What is the most important thing in life to you?”
The answer was happiness. Which of course many people are going to say but the way to accomplish happiness is to pretty much ignore the demons that surround us. There is so much evil in the world that wants to breed hatred and anger. Look at the media Fox News, Huffington Post, New York Times, and others…..they breed hatred; Blacks versus Whites, Republicans versus Democrats, Rich versus Poor, and so on and so on. Happiness is internal and it requires a buffer to the world today. You have to find and surround yourself with people that have good hearts and that you can trust. Many people are going to want to bring you down because of just plain jealousy and envy. Many people are not going t approve of your way of life and tell you that you are living wrong. The only things that matter in life is treating others with respect and kindness, being true to yourself, doing what is right and following whatever it is that makes you happy not anyone else.
Can this be found? I think step one is seeing the path you need to take to accomplish this goal and then implementing the steps to get there. It will be a long hard journey but the end result is finding your smile and obtaining peace in your heart as you know it is your life, you get to live it once and the only person that you need to have the approval of is yourself.
