PURA VIDA!

There’s this phrase that Tico’s (Costa Rican’s) say: “Pura vida.” It’s used in different contexts, but mainly as a greeting or salutation or, for instance, you might ask me “How are you?” and I would answer, “Pura vida.” Or instead of saying “hello” or “goodbye” you could say “pura vida”. The literal translation is “pure life”. I have been a bit intrigued by this cultural saying so I decided to look into it a little more. I know what the literal translation is and I recognize the context in which you can say it, but it still didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. I decided to try and glean some insight from the worldwide web and found some interesting info on wikipedia.com. They say the meaning is closer to “full of life”, “purified life”, and “this is living”. I love it! I want to live ‘pura vida’ everyday! Not just in my normal daily activities but in my spiritual life as well. I want to be so full of God, of His JOY, and live purified for Him. I want to be free of worldly ideas and desires and actions and just live as God would desire. And I want to live as though each day were my last. I don’t want to look back on my days and feel as though any part of it was wasted. I want to live with purpose, not consumed by things that are of no importance. May God help me!

Until next time, PURA VIDA!