Essence as Opposed to Form

Last night was the first time since I arrived here in Nosara that I had an opportunity to ¨go out on the town¨ and socialize with some of the local women living here. Wantana had been asked to prepare some food- she is an amazing cook- for a small gathering of women hosted by a woman named Ali, a local pilates guru living and teaching here. All afternoon I helped Wantana prepare food, asian mung bean salad, vietnamese spring rolls and dipping sauces. Her tiny kitchen in the bottom level of her home is stocked with exotic spices, herbs and strange concoctions made by her stored in recycled glass bottles and jars. An alchemist´s space. We arrived at the home where Ali was house sitting- a big modern, concrete rectangle perched on a hillside, an infinity pool running the entire length of the house. It was a small gathering of about seven or eight women who all had somehow found their way to Nosara. Between us there was a women´s magazine publisher from Vancouver, a retired boxer from New Mexico, and entrepeneur from Thailand, a yogi from Nicaraugua, a former disco roller girl-professional make-up artists from NYC, myself and Ali, the pilates instructor and our hostess for the evening. Everyone but me had staked some sort of permanent claim here- Ali telling me she didn´t think twice about moving here after her first visit. ¨It´s paradise¨ she said. ¨I had no idea a year ago that I would be living in a place like this realizing my dreams¨. The young yogi, Francella, recently engaged to a young man from Asheville, NC said, ¨I love it here. I can live simply in beauty teaching yoga and surfing- and it´s warm!¨ I shared my story with Becca, the women´s magazine publisher from Vancouver. When I was telling her that I was in Nosara because it was the answer for my plea for ¨space¨, she told me about her theory, ¨Essence as Opposed to Form¨. I thought about her words all day long and realized that my asking for space was exactly what she was talking about. I did not ask for two months in Costa Rica, or a week alone somewhere exotic, or a break from my career, I asked for space. I remember saying to Dan, quite frustrated,¨ I don´t know what that means or what it looks like¨, but I had an idea about how it might feel, or how I might feel within that space. The essence of what I was asking for. Then several weeks later, I recieve the email asking me to come to Nosara. That´s powerful stuff. Yes, I have questions that I was hoping to find answers for here, but more importanly this time is givïng me the space to contemplate the essence of how I want to feel, how I want to live and move through this world. When I think about things in this way it seems so much easier. Of course faith has a big part to play here. If I can not trust, that by sending out my energy and intention out into the universe my questions will be answered and my path made clear, then this isn´t going to work. How do I cultivate this faith? Well, I´m seeing it working in my life already. I´m here in Nosara.