Love from a Stranger in Costa Rica

Last month has been a whirlwind in a good way. We camped under the humboldt redwoods for 4 days. Then I climbed Mt. Shasta which was a dream come true. And if that wasn’t enough, we just returned from a wonderful trip to Costa Rica which truly expanded my love for the deep forests and “wildlife” of the World. (I’m not an advocate for packing too many experiences at once but that’s just how it all ended up being.)

“Wildlife” is in quotes because while we use that term to signify how civilized we are as humans, at times I’m not so sure. With all the ensuing political and social chaos in the world today caused by humans, it seems the jungle may actually be much more orderly and civilized than we’ve been led to believe. Perhaps we are the WILD ones in the World? More on that another time.

While we did plenty of adventurous activities in Costa Rica such as class 3 river rafting, ziplining across canyons a kilometer wide, having lightning shake us to our core like I’ve never witnessed before, and experiencing so much majestic life in the jungle - from frogs, to unique birds like the toucan, scarlett macaws, sloths, monkeys carrying little baby monkeys, anteaters hunting for food, tarantulas, bats, crabs, alligators and so on; there’s one seemingly innocent interaction that touched me the most and is still very much alive with me. 

It was receiving love from a stranger. Let me explain. 

When we arrived at our second stop of the trip in Monteverde, we stayed at a boutique family lodge called Hotel Flor De Bromelia in the middle of this beautiful cloudforest. Unlike our first resort, this place was humble. There was no pool, no thermal springs, no bar and no restaurant. Just a simple cozy room, with a view to the cloudforest and some friendly people managing the hotel. 

 On our first morning, we made our way to the tiny room next to the hotel reception where they served  breakfast. There we met a wonderful gentleman, David Cordero aka ‘Rey David’. Rey  was perhaps the age of my grandfather. And, he served us breakfast. It was a humbling experience to be served by someone so much older than me. 

Rey had a quiet demeanor and a beaming smile. Though he barely spoke any English, we communicated plenty through signs, smiles and gestures. He would smile at the children with love and make jokes as they ate their freshly made pancakes and eggs. Every morning, he would walk over to my wife and lovingly exclaim - “cafe mama?”. How can one say no to that, right? 

His wife was quietly making us breakfast in the kitchen. Every once in a while she’d beam through the glass windows and see our family eating food she had just prepared and smile with warmth. There was a love present in these simple exchanges that words cannot explain and instruments cannot measure but it was present and experienced. 

On the last day prior to departing the hotel, I used my google translate app to share with the man and his wife that being served by them felt like I was served breakfast every morning with extraordinary love of my own grandparents. It was special and I was deeply grateful to have received his love. They were touched as well. Then it was time for us to depart. We exchanged hugs and said our goodbyes. 

Having this experience was like I met ancestors from a previous life and was served by them with love as their child. It was deeply loving. I’m hard pressed to remember a time when I received such love from a stranger before. Love like this is sometimes not even present within families. It’s certainly not something money can ever buy.  

I share this with you because sometimes we act as if love is present only within the context of our families. But, that’s not true. Love goes where we take it with us. It has no familial or societal boundaries. It’s just a state of being we embody and choose to express. 

If we greet someone with a smile, we are likely to receive a smile back. 

If we express love and gratitude, we are likely to receive the same back. 

There’s no guarantees but if we drop the expectations of receiving anything in return, we can be loving wherever we go because our expression of love is no longer dependent on reciprocation from another. It’s just who we become and we become an expression, a carrier of that love. 

If our expression of love is always dependent on reciprocation and expression of love from someone else first, then the only person preventing love from being expressed in this World is US!

Sit with that for a moment. 

And then ponder this…

• How can you become a greater expression of love in your own life? 

• What warmth and miracles might be created as a result? 

• How will you feel about who you are becoming as a result? 

Let’s make the World a more loving place one smile, one gesture, one conversation at a time. 

Wishing you a wonderful time loving life!

- Nitin