Tales from the Tropics
A piece I wrote on my first solo trip in 2021
As I was reading through my backlog of content that I wrote but never released I stumbled upon this short piece that I wrote when I was traveling in Costa Rica in 2021 (the first time I’d ever left the country and also doing it solo.)
It feels right to release it now. This is where I was at 2+ years ago. I’m largely working on many of the same lessons, and also working on so many new ones.
As I flew into San Jose on January 31st, 2021 I felt deeply alive for the first time in a while. This is first time that I’ve left the USA and I’m doing it solo.
No backstops.
No one to tell me which parts of town to avoid.
No guidebook to follow.
Completely independent.
Completely self-reliant.
My stomach churned as I stepped off the plane as I thought “I have no clue how this trip will turn out. What if I get mugged in an alleyway and looked at like a naive gringo to exploit.”
And boy was I in for a rude awakening.
No I didn’t get mugged in downtown San Jose.
In fact quite the opposite. I was pulled in by the kindness of strangers.
I met a local just 4 hours after stepping off the plane and was being shown the best restaurants and given a full tour of downtown. What to do, what not to do, and the history of each location.
This was such a welcomed surprise.
I couldn’t help but think “Did I get lucky?”
“Why me?”
“Is it common for something like this to happen?”
And as I’d soon find out, it is.
Put kindness out into the world and you shall receive.
You know the Joseph Campbell quote "Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls."
I'd like to rewrite that with a twist inspired by Seth Godin "Poke the box and the universe will open doors where there were only walls."
"[I]t's to see that all around you are opportunities that will come to life once you are driven enough and brave enough to contribute the initiative they are missing." - Seth Godin
But it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows.
Shipping and taking initiative is a practice in and of itself.
It brings up your insecurities.
It makes you step out into the light.
There is no longer anywhere to hide.
You're standing naked in front of your deepest and darkest demons.
I'm going to be real honest, the first two weeks in Costa Rica were brutal for me.
Job troubles.
Self-doubt.
Major insecurity.
Lacking the confidence to do anything.
Self-hatred. More self-hated. And finally some more self-hatred on the way to a bit more self-hatred.
Depression.
Resistance.
Struggle.
Suffering.
But you know what.
Once I moved straight through the heart of those emotions my life has never been better.
These emotions are still coming up, but I learned a valuable lesson that wouldn't have shown up would I not have troubled and put myself into this situation in the first place.
I now react to those emotions with self-love.
I'm not perfect.
But self-love is 1% more embodied because of the suffering.
It's just a twinge more natural and clear on how and when to cultivate self-love in my life now.
On how to escape loathing faster.
And how to live a more fulfilled life.
Life supports us when we show initiative.
Life supports us when we show up fully to life.
Life supports us when we don't run away, but instead let the challenging feeling arise.
Life supports us when we get out of shell.
Life supports us when we ship that idea we've been thinking about doing for so long.
Shipping can mean putting out a product and business venture out into the world. But it can also mean shipping any sort of idea.
I've held the idea of travel to be highest on my list of dreams and aspirations since a kid.
But it was only a dream.
It seemed so daunting.
So scary.
So dangerous.
"Look at all these terrible things that could go wrong.” I would tell myself.
"I could get mugged."
"It could all end up poorly."
So you know what I did to counteract these thoughts.
I shipped it.
I bought the plane ticket.
People will give you every reason to stop when you’re wondering whether to start.
But they won't get in your way once you're already moving.
Do the thing.
Apologize later.
"The winners have turned initiative into a passion and a practice." - Seth Godin
Each day it's becoming more and more blindingly obvious to me that initiative and just DOING the thing that you've said you're going to do for so long is the key to the life of your dreams.
Heaven is already here.
Be specific on what you want from reality.
And take initiative.
The only thing between you and happiness is taking the leap.
The only thing stopping your is lack of initiative.
I don't know how else to say it but "DO THE FUCKING THING"
Thank you for reading.
Ethan.