We're not in Kansas anymore.....

I decided to take a small break, head somewhere warm, refocus on what's important and just basically chill out for a while. I'm in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve in the Costa Rican jungle for a week then it's off to the west coast to explore further and add more to the contrast of this incredible country. Sounds exotic right, except, everywhere I go, "I take me"! I've been frustrated as of late, but with what "it" is I really haven't figured it out yet; the only solace I've found was at the Kwoon, being active with others is the only thing that has kept me out of my head. A few years back, a friend who cares more about me than sometimes I do, looked me straight in the face and said "You have no right to enact your feelings on another human being, unless they're good"! That had to be the most profound statement that keeps me in line when life's frustrations happen or in other words "I'm not getting my way". I'm not sure if anyone else can relate, but the last time I checked, there is one steering wheel in most rental cars, but between two control freaks buckled in for the long haul, this does have its moments. Here I am in absolute paradise, driving along with the whitest knuckles you could imagine, up three hat sizes,  with that pulsating garden hose sized vein in my forehead, not sure when the last time I exhaled was, trying not to say anything wrong, but my silence is absolutely deafening along the drive (not saying anything doesn't make it right either). By the third day, my mind still not settled, I had nothing left, except to do those stupid push-ups and sit-ups, that was my only constant. I went on a strenuous hike in the morning in +35c, finding my 6 minutes and when it was all said and done I managed to get myself "centred" instead of being "self centred" and things started to fall into place again. I think that was the first time the push-ups and sit-ups made sense and weren't just a hoop to jump through. Now that things have somewhat calmed down inside, I'm learning a lot about the jungle; those cute little fuzzy pods that I just had to touch, aren't fuzzy.....I spent an hour pulling out some type of stinging splinters from both hands, then doing my best picture pose up against a tree, only to find out that it's protected by thousands of thorns up its trunk, did produce a few "F" bombs and some fast reflexes, that tiny little green tree snake, that's another story, but here on day 5, I'm starting to learn not to touch things,......even though I want to. Robert.