After 15 years of visiting the pura vida of Costa Rica, we finally made the move from California to here 2 years ago. We wanted the perfect climate, the breathtaking natural environment, the tranquility—we wanted the pura vida; but we can’t have it, can’t get it and you probably can’t either.

You see, it’s another state of mind; maybe even another dimension, like a Twilight Zone place. Pura vida means pure life, but here it also means letting go, something very difficult for most of us. We’re so trained to ‘control’ our lives or ‘get control’ of ourselves that letting go often requires some form of bungee jumping, be it mental or physical.

Where is the pura vida?

First, you have to get out of the city because the breathtaking surroundings and tranquility don’t exist there, and even if they have the perfect climate, you’re too stuck in traffic to enjoy it. For some of us, “living the dream” here means being part of a caring, loving community—the ticos and ticas we fell in love with when we visited.

We’re blessed enough to live on the Nicoya Peninsula, yes, a Blue Zone, and we are surrounded by the pura vida, but we still can’t get it. We can only watch others have it. Why?

One of our precious locals says we have “muchas cosas”, and that may be one of the reasons—we have stuff…too much stuff…and with stuff comes problems and with problems come stress and with stress you get no pura vida.

There it is in a nutshell. For example, those with the pura vida don’t have cars; therefore they don’t have riteve, marchamo, car payments or insurance; nor do they have worries about the prices of fuel, parts, labor and of course the stress of driving.

Have you ever had such a bad day with “Murphy’s Law” in full effect that when the last straw finally hits, you either cry or laugh or both? Well if you ever laughed, that’s it! Laughing in the face of adversity, right? That’s the pura vida, and that’s probably as close as you or I will ever get.

It’s a state where you either have no worries, you are too numb to recognize them, or you don’t let your worries have you. I was at my absolute wits’ end the other day, completely losing it—mad, crying, wanting to hit or kick something, when a tico neighbor showed up.

I explained in my best Spanglish my day of disasters, only to watch him go from a grin to complete knee slapping hysteria. I could not believe it; and I could not understand it. A few days later he experienced a minor disaster of his own, and again he laughed. That’s when it clicked. There it was—there was the pura vida!

Letting go of the disaster and turning to laughter to lighten his dismay.

My stressing was destroying my health while his prescription of laughter brought a peace and sense of acceptance that he experiences the bad, but good would return to his life, so why get upset. Wow. Seems pretty simple. What an eye (and heart) opening experience.

This spirit of contentment is a key to the pura vida. While I could recognize the peace he allowed himself by laughing with his tears rather than raging, as I had done, it was still elusive to me.

It reminded me of a quote by Billy Graham, “I’ve seen the effects of the wind, but I’ve never seen the wind. There’s a mystery to it.”

My problem is my mental state is still far too north of the equator; I want to go to the store or pharmacy and buy some pura vida. As I begin to understand and learn about this mystery, the transitioning is sure to be intense—so I’m in pura vida training, which could take awhile, but no doubt worth the time investment. Maybe I’ll go catch some wind while I’m waiting for the pura vida to take effect.

*This article graciously contributed to The Costa Rica Star by Susan Elliott.