Tag: Thoughts

Finding Peace in the Present Moment

In a world that constantly urges us to chase, hustle, and fix ourselves, we often forget one of life’s simplest truths: peace isn’t something we find—it’s something we allow.

There’s a quiet beauty in realizing that nothing more needs to happen for you to feel whole. Not tomorrow, not next year. It doesn’t require a perfect life, a solved problem, or a shiny future. Peace can meet you right here, in the stillness between breaths and in the quiet acceptance of this very moment. Right now, there is peace available—if you allow yourself to feel it.

The Power of Acceptance
Peace begins the moment we stop resisting what is. That doesn’t mean we give up on our dreams or settle for less than we deserve. It simply means we stop fighting the current of life and learn to flow with it.

Acceptance doesn’t mean passive resignation. It means honoring where you are, how you feel, and who you are in this moment, without judgment. From that place of clarity, we can move forward with more kindness, purpose, and ease.

Letting Go of the Illusion of Control
So much of our inner turmoil stems from trying to control things that are beyond our grasp—other people’s actions, the future, the past. But peace arrives the moment we release that tight grip and trust that, even when things don’t go according to our plans, they unfold as they should.

Life is never perfect, but it is always sacred. The chaos, the stillness, the joy, the grief—all of it belongs. And all of it can teach us something about who we are and what we value.

Embracing the Ordinary
Sometimes we think peace will come once everything is in place—when we get the promotion, meet the right person, or heal every wound. But peace is often found in the ordinary: the quiet of the early morning, the warmth of sunlight on your skin, the sound of laughter, the gentle rhythm of your breath.

You don’t need to wait for a perfect moment. This moment is enough. You are enough.

A Gentle Invitation
So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, or lost, pause. Breathe. Place your hand on your heart and remind yourself: I am present. I am here. I am alive.
There is nothing to prove. Nothing to fix. Nothing to chase.
You don’t need to be healed. You don’t need to have all the answers.
You are allowed to feel at peace with your life, even if it’s not perfect. Especially then. Because peace isn’t found in perfection. It’s found in presence.

Peace Lives In Presence
You are allowed to rest.
You are allowed to soften.
You are allowed to be at peace, right now.

And in that peace, you’ll find not only calm… but clarity, strength, and a deeper connection to the wonder of simply being alive.

Random thoughts at night…

May it be the moon, the stars, the darkness or that mysterious atmosphere deep in the night, thoughts and feelings always surge at this time of day, well, night. Haven’t written in a while because life has been pretty ordinary. I’ve been reading up on a lot of things that I want to learn on my own because I don’t have nor wish to spend the time or money to take classes and study. That desire isn’t strong enough. I’ve also been having doubts about wanting to travel and see the world mainly because even though I’ve been self-sufficient in teaching English and traveling, I feel like I should be looking for a long-term well-paying job to support my parents. My Dad’s work schedule has been cut in half (due to the economic recession of course) and it’s pretty much impossible for him to change jobs because his English isn’t that good. They sacrificed so much for my sister and I moving to the US. I know that we’re still pretty well off and they want me to see the world and I will. I just need to find a high-paying job that allows me to travel…right…shouldn’t be that hard…*roll eyes* *scoff*

NBA Playoffs have been sweeeeet, 8 games in 2 days. I love Family Guy, it was on earlier on Adultswim. Had a glass of milk and I’ve been eating spicy food…so damn good. The clock is ticking, I wish I was at the beach. The Fifth Element is on right now, Chris Tucker is funny…haha…ok, done rambling. Later gator.

2 weeks in

Haven’t eaten beans for 2 weeks…I miss casados…even though I’ve been eating SO WELL maaaaan. It’s great being back home, feels like I’ve never left. Siento extraño en que estoy rodeado de la gente quien habla solo ingles. Y también las programas que están en ingles pero no hay subtítulos. Y que no se atardece hasta mas tarde en la noche. Y que hace muchísimo frío! Es posible que voy a quedar aquí por 2 meses mas…y ya quiero viajar y ir a un nuevo lugar. Sip, algunos de mis mejores amigos están aquí y sip, mi familia también y la extraño, sin embargo, mi deseo de viajar y ver el mundo esta mucho mas fuerte que los demás. Bueno, cambia de tema…

…El desempleo aquí en California es muy grave. Todavía estoy buscando un trabajo a medio tiempo. La verdad es que siento malo porque mucho trabajo requiere que queda por lo menos 3 meses o mas y solo quedo 2 meses, no quiero mentir que voy a trabajar mas y después sale. Bueno, no importa…Cheers!

Letting go isn’t the end of the world…

It’s the beginning of a new life. 2 more days left until leaving Costa Rica behind for good. Bittersweet is really the only word to describe this feeling. Still don’t know what to do yet once I get home…I’ll figure it out when I get back…never the one who plans.

—> Just got back from buying some gifts downtown. It’s weird because it was probably the last time taking the Carmiol bus to downtown San Jose and walking down Avenida Central…which brought back many memories. San Jose has been my home for a long while and every time getting back to San Jose from the beach it feels like home, it’s comfortable and familiar and I know exactly where I am. Definitely immersed in the culture and everything now and like every other experience it has to end sometime. Even though I didn’t take any Spanish classes here and I’ve been teaching English almost every day, my Spanish still improved a lot. There’s only so much to learn in class. I also thought of more things that I’ve learned about Costa Rica:

34. You’re not supposed to throw toilet paper into the toilet, use the garbage bin.
35. Cover your mouth with your left hand and finger smack with the right hand while you laugh or something funny happens.
36. Ticos love checking out girls, and I don’t mean just looking top to bottom, their heads follow the girl left to right and right to left and their heads move in sync…it’s amazing really.
37. No army here.
38. Nightclub here doesn’t mean a bar/club/disco, it means a strip club.
39. Red light doesn’t mean shit here when there aren’t many cars.
40. Always support local businesses, even an extra dollar for tips means a lot here.
41. “Costa Rica Named First BioGem Country by NRDC”
42. Huge differences between the Caribbean Coast and the Pacific Coast.
43. They play soccer on basketball courts…
44. Honking is a warning to other drivers that you’re crossing an intersection so they don’t crash into you, it’s a signal, and they converse with it, especially cab drivers.
45. Pura Vida!

That’s about it really…this kinda marks the end of my journey here in Costa Rica…and so, here I am, packing up and getting ready to leave otra vez…

1:25 am, 3/9 ——-> Estoy disfrutando mis últimos momentos en Casa Luna y Costa Rica. En unas horas voy a salir para el aeropuerto, otra vez. Estoy triste y no voy a esconderlo. Este me ha pasado muchas veces y estoy acostumbrado. El fin nunca es el fin, es el comienzo de algo nuevo. Bueno ya, tengo que tomar una siesta porque estoy muy cansado de anoche.

Life is a series of rooms…

…and who we get stuck in the rooms with adds up to what our lives are (If you know where this is from you are my new best friend). It’s always the hardest to leave people behind. We hold the key to unlocking the door leading to other rooms. The door is there and ultimately we have to walk through it, can’t stay forever. Rooms can change and furniture can be rearranged, but the person living there stays the same. His or her appearance might change with time and might be deceiving but deep down inside, they’re still the same. People don’t change. They want to change. They want to believe that they can change but they don’t. Personality stays forever. It’s the decisions they make that give the illusion of change. Those decisions are what make us different.

Having said that, not sure where to go from here. The point is, my life has been very fortunate and blessed to be stuck with so many good people. Things I can take with me. Places I can revisit. It’s the people that I miss and will always miss. Live and treasure the moments of each day, especially today because it’s a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.

A special entry / Una entrada especial

I figured I’d write this entry in both English and Spanish since I’m starting to have so many friends who only speak Spanish.

Tears are the blood of the soul as San Agustín said, and eyes are the windows to the soul. I don’t shed tears anymore. As I’ve said many times before, I’ll never stay and I understand that. I am and will always leave people, places, and things I’ve got to know behind. Tears will not stop that from happening. It’s interesting because some of my students asked me about my plans for the future and after I told them, the first advice that I got was that it’s pretty much impossible for me to sustain a relationship because of my constant desire to travel and move from place to place. People say it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all…I say it’s best to just not love at all. Pain and damage to the heart will never heal. It really hurts. I don’t mean to be sentimental but it is how it is. I learned to live with it. I would love more than anything in the world to leave it to fate except the thought of not having control over my life I really cannot stand. The point is, I try to move on. I try to not let my heart be involved. I tried and failed. Feelings past. It’s always hard but I’ll heal. Though it won’t be the same ever again.

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Supuse que escribiría esta entrada en ambos ingles y español puesto que empiece tener mas amigos quien hablan solo español.

Las lágrimas son la sangre del alma como dijo San Agustín, y los ojos son el espejo del alma. Ya no derramé ningunas lágrimas. Como he dicho antes muchas veces, nunca voy a quedarme y eso me entiendo. Siempre voy a dejar atrás la gente, los lugares y las cosas que me había familiarizado. Las lágrimas no pueden evitarlo de eso. Me fascina porque unos de mis estudiantes me preguntaron sobre mis planes en el futuro y después de les conté, el primero consejo que me dijeron era que es casi imposible mantener una relación por mi deseo constante de viajar y cambiar a otros lugares. Dice que es mejor ha amado y ha sufrido un desamor que no ha amado nunca…bueno, digo que es lo mejor no ama nunca. El dolor y el daño a la corazon nunca curarán y le duele mucho. Eso es lo que sea. Aprendido vivir con eso. Me encantaría dejarlo al destino más que todo el mundo menos que no puedo creer en que no tengo control sobre mi vida. El hecho es que trato continuar con la vida. Trato de no deja mi corazón involucrada. Traté y fracasé. Sentimientos pasan. Siempre es difícil pero voy a curar. Aunque no vaya a ser lo mismo nunca.

Well…it’s 2:42 am…it’s late (or early)…I’m going to bed.

Bueno…ya es 2:42…muy tarde (o temprano)…voy a dormirme.

Out of sight, out of mind

Not really.

Too tired right now…I’ll expand on it later.

—–> 4 days later…

Solo cuando no hay aun un secundo para pensar. Algunos pueden ahuyentar todos los pensamientos pero no lo puedo. Es difícil porque me cuesta mucho tiempo dormirme, aunque sea cansado. Dice que si no lo soñarle se vuelve loco, quizás, porque todos lo que obtiene el mente subconsciencia durante el día están en el mente pero la consciencia no los trata entonces, la subconsciencia los trata cuando la consciencia está descansado en la noche. Y esos pensamientos se forman los sueños. A veces las cosas que pensó todo el día se forman los sueños también. Hay un dicho en Chino que dice “lo que piensa en el día, lo piensa en sueño”. Bueno.

Seis días…porque solo es ella. Aunque sea por un minuto.

Will I ever stay?

The answer is a very simple no. I’ve asked myself countless times. Traveling and moving always come first. I can see myself settling down but I just can’t get around to actually doing it. I hate leaving things behind I do, but once I’m in a new place all those things don’t seem to matter as much. I have my health, my memories, and my experiences with me…what more do I need? I really don’t care about a lot of stuff, not that they aren’t important, I just, well, don’t care.

Someone once asked me: Will you ever stay…for love? The simple answer would be again, no. Nevertheless, people tend to follow these yes or no questions with…why? Well, simply because my desire to travel is stronger than any other feelings I might have. ‘Pero el amor es el sentimiento mas fuerte que los demás’. Sure, I agree with that, and I’ve come very close to compromising but somehow, the thought of traveling and seeing the rest of the world comes out on top. I would give it a shot, I have been giving it a shot, but it’s just not happening. ‘All you need is love’, not me. ‘Love can withstand anything’, perhaps. If that’s true then love can wait (I am kind of in love).

I’m generalizing though…there are so many circumstances and I’m about to contradict myself by quoting Spider-Man: ‘Sometimes, to do what’s right, we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams.’ Truth be told this quote is definitely one of my favs. If my family needs me to stay, then yeah, I’m willing to give up my dreams, but if they “want” me to stay, then maybe. Now I’m gonna quote House: ‘You can’t always get what you want’, and now I’m gonna quote Into the Wild: ‘When you want something in life, you just gotta reach out and grab it’. On the surface, these seem like contradictions, but really, they go hand in hand. Think about it…no really, think about it! I’m not about to explain. Hmm, my wifey was just on tv with her music video”Suerte”.

All in all, take what has meaning, and leave the rest behind.

Beware of thoughts that come in the night

They aren’t turned properly; they come in askew, free of sense and restriction, deriving from the most remote of sources. ~ William Trogdon

La mayoría de estos pensamientos en la noche son deprimidos. Es extraño, es oscuro, es triste. Es difícil entender porque no sabe de donde vienen estos pensamientos. Por eso muchas de las conversaciones que ocurren son profundos. Hay algo trata con la oscuridad. Bueno, cuando está despejado y enfocado el mente, especialmente durante la noche (aún dentro de un sueño), el subconsciente tiene más espacio para funciona. Estos pensamientos son suprimidos por el consciente durante el día (por lo general). No sé que quiero decir exactamente porque estoy cansado. Pues, tengo que trabajar mañana, voy a dormirme.