In the Jungle

Well folks, here it is, better late than never: the story on me and the jungle.

I was feeling both excitement and fear about being there alone. And it all came to pass.

Fear at night, especially at first. Fear of snakes – I saw one, a 5 foot long, 4-6 inch thick jumping pit viper, one of the most venomous of the 130 snake species in Costa Rica. It actually wasn’t very scary.

Loneliness too, and all that brought up in a place of few distractions. Longing came up, and grief followed. I sat patiently with myself and worked through these feelings and took good care of myself. I done good.

And oh, the beauty. Waking and going to sleep to the sound of crickets and birds and the breeze through the trees. Being bathed in the light of the full moon as bats and fireflies circled over head. Gazing out at the placid Gulfo Dulce, at fields of cows, at lush rainforest. Walking alone through dense jungle, across creeks, up to – and in - waterfalls...and amidst so many animals, including, monkeys!

I'd never seen monkeys before, and certainly not this many. I'd see them daily, in troupes of 5 to 10. White faced Cachuphins, bigger Howlers. Babies on the backs of mamas. Crazy sounding Howler calls at 4am to welcome the dawn - and wake me up!

Ya’ll know how much I love monkeys. I always have. They are some of our closest relatives. We share common ancestors. They are beautiful and smart, and really cute!

They also know how to fight. At one point I found myself between 4 warring monkeys, baring their teeth at each other with me in the middle. They were at most 5 feet away, in trees, at eye level. I felt alert but comfortable. It was awesome.

So beauty. A lot of it. And fear and grief, and all of it.

The beauty felt gooood to take in. And the fear and grief were good stuff to face, all important parts of my path right now. What came most to me was the idea of feeling safe and loved and at home wherever I am…and with love and practice, I felt it more and more.

I am home wherever I am. Because I’m in this universe, my home. Because I’m on earth, my home. And because I am in me! All words that are feeling far truer because of my 5 days of mainly solitude. So much so, that by my last few nights, I reveled in being alone, savored laying in my hammock for hours, with a few candles lit and the warm breeze caressing my skin and the gorgeous full moon bathing me in her light.

Pura Vida,
Love Roni

And finally, here's a 10 minute movie I strung together. Muy fun!