If you read my Costa Rica Countdown blog you would have noticed it was riddled with fears:
Fears about leaving my children.
Fears of not being in good enough shape.
Fears about being selfish and not having the time or money for this adventure.
Anxiety over how bad my anxiety would be.
So even though this was an incredible opportunity for me, all of these fears were holding me back… I took a huge step outside of my comfort zone, and went anyways.
While I was in Costa Rica on the Run Like a Girl Adventure Retreat I was forced into an environment with no cell phone service, WiFi, or electricity. I had put myself in a situation where I not only needed to deal with my fears head on, but I also was given the opportunity to evaluate other elements of my life.
After 9 days of adventure, challenge, and reflection, here’s what I decided to leave behind in Costa Rica:
My lack of Respect for my Body’s Capacity
My body proved to me over and over again how strong and healthy it is. Sure, I’m struggling with Asthma and not in the best shape of my life today, but this is part of my journey and it’s time I started embracing it instead of loathing it.
My Anxiety
Leaving everything at home meant that I got to “test” the waters of what would happen when I left, and you know what… everything was fine! I have a supportive husband and great kids. And while I can’t always guarantee that things will be perfect, I have to have more trust in my family and my community that things will be okay!
My Lack of Appreciation for my Village
I have an amazing group of women who support me and my dreams on a daily basis (you know who you are!). These women filled my heart with enthusiasm and excitement as they phoned and texted me well wishes as I headed off on my adventure. This village is truly something powerful and wonderful that I need to be more appreciative of.
My Crazy Parenting Obsession
We live in a society that has created a culture of obsession with setting children up for success. I don’t know how many times I’ve been obsessed about what schools I should send my kids to, or are they in too many (or not enough) after-school programs. What about their chores, or their eating habits, their bedtime routine, or how they dealt with the incident on the playground?
In a time where helicopter parenting is not only trendy, but apparently encouraged, I realized that I need to take a step back. Our kids are fine. They are healthy. They are smart. They are loved. They have an amazing community and have more options accessible to them then they could ever do. This was never more obvious than when I visited a rural school in Costa Rica. I saw children who didn’t have potable water, sitting in bare classrooms, walking through their hallways with what appeared to be not a care in the world.
Our kids are going to be fine, so I left my parenting obsession in Costa Rica.
Our Need to Consume Stuff
Travelling through the streets of Costa Rica brought on endless views of mountains and oceans, that were uncluttered by marketing campaigns and billboards. Not being able to access WiFi also meant that my “feed” was no longer based on Facebook Ads, but was based on the sights and sounds of the world around me.
While I’m not an advocate for consumerism, I do tend to enjoy shopping every now and again as well as buying my kids a few things. However, this lack of commercialism in the developing country really brought forth the desire to think more clearly when making purchases.
My Lack of Appreciation for our Country
I’ve been a Canadian since the day I was born and with that comes many rights and privileges that millions around the world don’t have. Clean drinking water. Access to health care. Clean communities. Amazing education.
This was my first trip to a developing country and my lack of real awareness about how so many people live was frankly… embarrassing.
So thank you to Run Like a Girl for providing me with the perfect environment to learn so much, and leave so much behind!
Have you checked out my Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four and Day Five blogs about my Costa Rica adventures? These blogs showcase our Chakra camp life, sunrise yoga sessions and our epic tree climbing, waterfall rappelling and hiking stories!
I hope that sharing my experiences with you encourage you to take a leap and experience your dream adventure!
