#9 Nicaragua Diaries: Living Moments

I would like to take a break here from my spiritual storyline and share some of my memories in a heavenly place with you: Nicaragua.

Nicaragua is known on paper as one of the poorest countries in the world. Many people even think it is still unsafe here after the long civil war. Yet I have never felt unsafe in this beautiful country. I have always been welcomed with warm and friendly smiles. Walking on the streets of Granada which is one of the main cities of the country, I remembered after a long time how it felt to be smiled at by strangers and called 'good morning'. Kids here play freely on the street without the need of adult supervision, they run around the village, town or the city with their friends, playing, laughing and just enjoying being a free kid. In rural villages people have the luxury to grow their own food in their backyard and cook with fresh food that is not polluted by chemicals. They wake up in the jungle, living in harmony with gorgeous nature, breathe clean air and have very close community, neighborhood relationships. People build their own homes on the land and live in their homes, growing their own food. Nicaragua may be poor on paper and maybe seen as poor by the western world but in my opinion Nicaraguans are much richer than most of the wealthy westerners living in modern western cities.

I have stayed in a bungalow in my first two months here, at an eco community called Costa Dulce. My room had only two walls, the other two were open and covered only by a net. I got used to the beauty of falling asleep seeing the stars from my bed, feeling the breeze and hearing the waves of the ocean; and then waking up with sunrise, hearing the monkeys howling and birds chirping. After my two months in Costa Dulce, my first night in a hotel room with all four walls was very challenging for me. I felt like a caged animal, claustrophobic and could not believe the conditions we sleep in every night -no fresh air, no stars, only walls, no natural sunlight in the morning, no sound of any animal. I started thinking this is real poverty, yet we are sold that this is wealth -having a fancy four wall room with ac. I still keep my habit of waking up at 5 am with sunrise every morning, offering my gratitude to the sun and doing sun salutation to honor my body along with the sun. It has made a huge impact on my wellbeing.

I only used several pieces of clothing while I was at eco-community -my bikini, three dresses, my shorts and a t-shirt, two yoga pants and my pajamas. I learned that less is truly more. When you have less, when you care less, you are liberated. I've found an immense freedom in less. Well I also did not need much, my life has been filled by enriching experiences such as watching gorgeous sunsets every evening on the beach. I made friends with different animals, I learned not to kill or hurt any living being unless it threatens my safety and I have to. I learned to embrace life with love. Hence I also learned how to live with spiders, bugs and ants as they were my roommates for a long time. They were very respectful and never hurt me. I realized how much I love spending time with myself and with nature. I realized you meet God in silent, quiet moments, not in texts or words.

At the same time I realized how disconnected I was from nature. I learned that cacao is actually a fruit, and saw the cacao fruit on the cacao tree for the first time in my life even though chocolate is one of my favorite foods of all time. How sad it is that we don't know what our favorite food looks like. I developed a deep connection with cacao. I realized we take most of our food for granted and the modern life and capitalist system cheapens the value of many foods, yet the value of our everyday food items such as coffee and chocolate is way beyond our imagination. So much labor and effort is made so that we can have our one cup of coffee in the morning. Since I've realized the extent of natural resources and labor that goes into making our food, I made a promise to myself to never take my food, my coffee and my cacao for granted. So I gained a new habit: before every meal and drink I close my eyes for ten seconds and give my gratitude and thanks to every living being that made it possible for me to enjoy my food at the moment. As I practiced gratitude everyday, I realized my heart started growing and opening as days went by and I became a happier and more joyful person. I learned that you cannot separate happiness from gratitude, that happiness and joy cannot exist without gratitude. I realized how much we have in this life, and how blessed we are by all the magical things that exist right here.

So I am eternally grateful for Nicaragua and everyone who has been part of my journey for all these precious life lessons they taught me. My next destination is Costa Rica. Lots of love <3

Urala