Hey, You, Relax! Go to the Park; Read a Book

Lately, I have had a lot of free time to explore the inner workings of Ben and what makes him tick.  Although I volunteer at the La Escuela de Castro Madriz every morning from 8:00-12:00, I still have my entire afternoons and nights free.  Since I am quite the frugal person, I find interesting ways to pass my day without spending a lot of money.  Usually, I will go for a nice 45 minute run down to the park and back or I will take a nap (usually because I am worn out from playing soccer with the school kids for 4 hours every day).  However, this past Monday, I decided to walk to La Sabana, the largest park in San Jose, where the Costa Rican National Stadium is located.  

The National Stadium where Costa Rica recently tied Argentina 0-0 in futbol.

After the 3 mile or so trek to the park, I walked around it a bit just taking in everything.  Since no one had school Monday (it was a national holiday), the park was full of families playing soccer, kids riding bikes, people fishing in the ponds or just relaxing under the trees.  I brought a book with me that my host brother, Jose Andres, had lent me.  It’s a Spanish book called Pantalones Largos.  Usually, kids who have just finished 6^th grade read this book in school but, even though I am way past 6^th grade, this book is perfect for my level of Spanish comprehension.  

A view of the lake at La Sabana.

So, after having walked around the park a bit, I found a nice tree in the shade, nestled myself against its trunk and just read my book.  I read for roughly 2 hours or so, looking up words in my dictionary when necessary.  This book has really helped me improve my Spanish and I am very thankful Jose let me borrow it.  I am able to understand more spoken words than I was before and am beginning to use more new words too.  I only have about 30 pages left to read out of the 200 or so in the book.  Jose has already given me another book, a much larger and more difficult book, to read after I finish this one.  If not reading in a park, many days, I just relax on the couch in the house and read my Spanish book.  

A similar area to where I reclined against a tree and just read.

Life should be this simple.  Bored?  Go to the park, recline a bit, and read a book.  I struggle with this, however.  If you know me, then you know that I plan and schedule my life like a mad man.  I write everything down in my planner, I allot time for everything, and I sacrifice relationships, deep relationships, for my schedules.  I need to thank Costa Rica, thank this entire experience, for re-grounding me in the things that matter most in life – my friends and especially my family.  Too often I find myself caught up in the future, with what I have planned and with what I need to do.  I need to remember the now; I need to remember to relax, to have fun, to just talk to people and to sometimes curl up and read a book.  I don’t always have to be going going going in order to enjoy life.  In the words of Jack Johnson, “Slow down everyone you're moving too fast.”

Friendships and relationships are worth the time and effort.

Yes, I have neglected friends from the States while in Costa Rica but I have learned so much about friendship while being in this new country.  With less worries, with less things that I ‘have’ to do and schedule, I have been able to open myself up to simply hanging out with people, forgetting time and forgetting schedules.  I think now, after having experienced Costa Rica, I will be able to lead a more balanced life when I return to the States in a few weeks.  But of course I didn’t come to this realization on my own.  I want to thank the Lord for allowing me to pursue this amazing experience and for opening my mind to a new way of viewing His creation – my life.