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Am I nervous?

2 February 2009 6 views 4 Comments

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We’re moving in 16 days, we still have to pack & get rid of stuff, and the prospect of life without a steady paycheck looms. Am I nervous? Yep. But I’m not afraid. I keep coming back to Joseph Campbell’s quote on the experience of being alive. That’s what it feels like right now, being alive & present.

It probably helps that I don’t believe in luck as much as believing in being prepared for opportunity. A great post at Get Rich Slowly this weekend covered this very nicely: 1) Only 10% of life is random while 90% is definied by how we think. 2) Luck is being aware of opportunities. 3) Luck involved listening to your gut, which I already adhere to. I feel as prepared as I need to be, and I have the growth mindset to boot.

But part of it is also a positive mindset, which seems to come with the sensation of being alive. It freaks out my Dad to no end that I will not have a paycheck, but I’m not worried about it. This doesn’t mean that I don’t think about it or don’t have concerns – I do, but I’m not worried. Why? Because I’m about to embark on the life of my dreams, and there is nothing else I’d rather be doing. Networking and finding new clients is all part of the big, dreamy picture.

4 Comments »

Susan said:

Paradise shall bring on a whole new wave of thought and never ending challenges. All worth it in the end.

# 7 February 2009 at 9:47 pm

Arp (author) said:

It will be worth it – just gotta survive the next 10 days! Packing, shipping, last-minute errands, tying up loose ends, hair falling out, etc.

# 7 February 2009 at 9:55 pm

Sarah said:

Oh Lord, I’ve lost every post I’ve tried to post here so I am taking a break and I will post later. Your site has been tempermental and if I forget to put my email in, I lose the post (I guess I should learn to copy everything first), and I’ve lost a few due to site maintenance or something. Your site also does some weird streaky thing when you scroll up or down. Just FYI! Maybe you already know.

I can’t believe you will be in CR in 9 days. How exciting! Woody Allen (whom I in no way endorse) once said 90% of success is just showing up. I have to agree. Had I not “shown up” in Costa Rica in 2001, I would not have met the man of my dreams. At 28, I had been through more than a few and had all but given up, but who would have guessed that a soul-searching solo journey so far away would have resulted in marriage for me? I never even liked Latinos! I am a big believer in putting yourself “out there”. While some prefer the familiar and safe, they also have banal, predictable lives that go with living conservatively. That’s not for us. We are sort of stuck in a pretty conservative place right now and that’s ok because at least my husband has a job that is safe. I envy you that you will be so far away from the mess unfolding in this country. I really don’t think it is going to get better here, and I am not sure housing values nor the stock market will return to the levels of a few years ago for decades, so that’s a lot of wealth wiped out and it’s terribly scary.

One great thing about Costa Rica is the opportunities it presents for self-sufficiency, and the people know how to be self-sufficient so you’re in good company even if your income is not what you’d like it to be. I do think your skills are probably more recession-proof than many. Got chickens? Fruit trees? You’re ahead of the game right there. Rice and beans are dirt cheap, throw in your own fruits and eggs and you won’t go hungry at least. I know many people who can’t even cook rice and beans here. We’ve been practicing that for years, and we are stocked up because, frankly, I am very uncomfortable with what the future holds here. Ticos are survivors though. I’d rather be in an agriculturally-rich place than here if the worst-case scenario unfolds. Like so many homeowners (what an albatross that turned out to be, eh?), we are stuck here, unable to walk away for various reasons, and probably not able to give our house away as there is such a great level of fear amongst the people right now. We’ll be in Costa Rica in spirit but for now, this has to be home unless and until something gives.

Enjoy your preparations for your new adventure. I’m sure you will be grateful to be there and not here in the frigid cold barraged by constant bad news and uncertaintly. Sure your move is not without risks but it’s a different kind of risk, a much smaller risk than staying here and getting sucked into the systematic decline of our standard of living while the “benefits” of living the American Dream seem more and more questionable and are disappearing outright along with everyone’s wealth and retirements and so much hope for the future. It’s just terrible what is happening here, and around the world, and anyone who gets out of the trap to seek a slower pace of life and one that relies less on false promises and more on self-sufficiency is a winner in my book. Keep posting once you get to Costa Rica! Pura vida!

# 9 February 2009 at 10:31 am

Arp (author) said:

Thanks! Now all I gotta do is survive until Sunday night (after our barrels get shipped and we arrive at my parents for a couple of lower stress days before departur).

# 11 February 2009 at 8:38 pm