The Zen of the Rainforest

Last day at Earth University. We are following the same schedule as the previous day with visits to the local farms and plantations. I chose to visit the community farms. I found my experience to be personally affirming but also spiritual. Have you ever felt completely at one with your surroundings and understood all at once your purpose in this world? I definitely felt at some points in the day that if I stood completely still I could feel the earth breathing. I could hear the mountains speaking to each other beneath their snowy mantels. The trees are literally alive buzzing, chirping, whirring, clicking.

A group of us spent the morning at our host Chupita's beautiful finca (the costarican word for farm), basking in her grandmotherly glow. In the picture she is cradling a squash the size of a small child.

I feel her warmth as we kissed her goodbye and thanked her for her unbelievable hospitality. I felt my eyes tear up as the memory of my own grandmother and the time I spent in the tropics as a child, came rushing back. Fast forward two hours. The wrap up session for the Global Youth Leadership conference provided exactly the transition we needed. Thank you Ulric Johnson. I will remember to embrace my five C's (Color, Culture, Class, Character...) and when asked, I will share them with the same joy as my favorite dessert. Pat Bassett, President of NAIS, got us energized and ready to take on the world like the "shirtless dancing guy"(check out the link to see what I mean:http://mydd.com/2010/2/12/the-shirtless-dani). Thank you to Sarah, my kindred spirit, for the two-hour conversation on the bus trip to Chilamate. I will continue to dream big while keeping my feet firmly planted on the ground. As we approached the rain-forest eco-retreat the lessons of the last few days began to crystallize. Surrounded by indescribable beauty we we are reminded that we are all responsible for the security of our future. We are all uniquely qualified change agents; we all have a job to do. Tomorrow we will meet our host families and I am excited to see what wisdom the next few days will bring.