I have written before about my view that “American-style” consumerism is at the root of many problems the world faces.  Often I have contrasted that with what prevails here in Costa Rica, which, comparatively speaking, is a low consumption society…although the influx of gringos the last few years threatens to change all that. Now granted, low consumption isn’t for everybody, I understand that.  But if, just if, enough people lived this way, I believe the earth would be a better place.  What exactly am I getting at with this idea of L-cubed, or a Latin Low-Consumption Lifestyle?  Let me provide some examples…and as always, there are exceptions!  But exceptions don’t make the rules.  In Costa Rica, we don’t use appliances such as dishwashers and clothes dryers that consume an inordinate amount of electricity. We use ”suicide showers” rather than energy wasting hot water heaters.  In the higher altitudes of Costa Rica, like the Central Valley, no one uses air condition, nor heat.  Down on the coast that may be a different story, at least for A/C, but not really if you live high enough to cool things down a bit while enjoying an ocean breeze at the same time (yes, there are places where you can ”have your cake and eat it too” in Costa Rica).  In Costa Rica, we grow our own fruit, or it may just be growing on its own, right in your backyard.  We don’t need to buy our fruit and produce from industrialized farms that are depleting the soil and poisoning it and us with pesticides.  In Costa  Rica we get most of our energy from renewable sources, like wind, water and solar.  In Costa Rica we generally buy used cars of the compact variety and then drive them to the last kilometer…this is in large part due to the ridiculously high cost of new imports, but it helps keep our consumption rate low compared to other “more developed” societies. In Costa Rica we protect the environment because we realize it is the main reason we get up every morning with a smile on our faces, not to mention the dollars it brings from others who would like to enjoy a similar experience.  I could go on, but you should catch my drift.  Now, mind you, those living in a place like Detroit can’t do some of these low consumption things and probably don’t even want to.  Great, as part and parcel of a low-consumption and earth-friendly attitude of life, is maintaining a non-judgmental mindset of live and let live. But those of you who are intrigued by what I am talking about, come on down, the water is very very nice!

It may be true that North Americans have a tendency and reputation of looking down their collective noses toward those down south.  But at least here in Costa Rica, there is a stubborn aversion to ever look up.  Living in Costa Rica often gives me the perspective of an outsider looking in, not only to my own culture, but to that of the ticos as well.  Tico attitudes toward gringos can be tinged with haughtiness, or what in Spanish would be called “soberbia.”  Oh sure, the smile always comes out when the objective basis for the relationship is the greenback, but beyond that ephemeral sphere of connection, there is a certain degree of disdain lurking just below the surface.  This may come in the form of price discrimination, such as charging double to the gringo, always delivered with the utmost in courtesy.  “Humoring” is a game played regularly here in Costa Rica when it comes to tico-gringo interactions.  Ticos and other Latinos living in Costa Rica just don’t hold us gringos in very high regard.  In short, it seems at times, most times, that they think we’re stupid.  Some of these feelings have certainly been brought down upon us by our own doing.  It doesn’t help that there have been decades of U.S. intervention into Latin affairs, often in ways that have served to increase the gap between the rich and the poor.  A tourism based economy, as Costa Rica has become, means that not so well behaved gringo tourists can be a tico’s only first-hand perception of our culture.  These and many other things contribute to the cultural gap.  But those of you who are “just visiting” don’t have to experience this on a regular basis like I do. The snickers every time I pronounce a word in Spanish less perfectly that someone borne and raised Latino.  The accelerated speech in muffled tones to make sure that I don’t understand the full meaning of what is being said.  You get the picture.  But through it all, the ticos are nice, peaceful and fun-loving. You just have to grow a bit thicker skin to be a stranger in a sometimes strange land.  I guess for a white-guy who grew up southern, to feel even a tinge of the pain of exclusion is to get a little of what’s coming to me.  The sobering thing about soberbia is in realizing that despite your best efforts, you’re really no better than anyone else.  Here in Costa Rica the ticos are more than ready to remind you of that whenever necessary.

This morning I read a tragic story about a young woman in her fifties who came here to start anew. Instead, she ended her life. I feel compelled to write something in response to this. I could write a cliché-filled diatribe about how “Costa Rica is not for everyone.” That you can’t escape yourself, nor your problems, here. Duh! The truth is life can be viewed as either being filled with problems, or potential, anywhere you are. The answer never lies “out there,” but rather “in here.” Okay, so much for avoiding clichés, but it is true, isn’t it? If you are looking for answers to problems in a place, or in a relationship, or in a belief system, political view, drug, or by pointing a loaded gun at your head, what you will find is simply more problems. This fabulously fleshy computer that God installed between our ears is quite adept at finding and magnifying problems if that is where you choose to direct its processing power. Have I been able to escape my problems in Costa Rica (and believe me I have and have had many)? The very notion of that question makes me chuckle to myself. It all really comes down to a decision that we all are empowered to make. Costa Rica provides a beautiful backdrop in which to make that decision and which can enrich that decision in many ways. What “decision” am I talking about? The decision to embrace life no matter what it throws at you. To see the silver lining in every dark cloud. To pass the test of integrity. To love even when you feel unloved. To sacrifice yourself even when you feel completely spent. To be at peace alone with yourself when no one else wants to share their time with you. To remain fond of yourself despite all the stupid #$@! you’ve done.  And to gaze upon the beauty that surrounds you here in Costa Rica, or wherever you might find yourself, and know that there is a purpose to it all. That there is a purpose to your life. The decision to cut it short is one you can make in a myriad of ways, but that is always outside of the path of your true purpose. You wouldn’t be here in the first place if it weren’t meant for you to L-I-V-E your life in every sense of what that word means. Anyone who has suffered in life, really suffered, has experienced the electrically impulsed image of ending it all slicing through the synapses. There is nothing weird or even particularly alarming about that. After all, it is a choice we always have, just like all the other choices God’s gift of free will grants us. But it is never the best choice. Life beats it, hands down, every time.

…..Live to Love
…..Live to Laugh
…..Live to Learn
…..Live to Leave a Legacy