Not only did I get my wallet stolen, but on day 9 of my trip I had my passport, camera, all remaining cash, journal, and other miscellaneous things stolen when 3 teenage boys snatched my bag from UNDER ME when o-dawg and I were at the beach in Punta Uva. Yea, I was laying on top of my bag. No, I don't make it a habit to carry everything with me. We were in the process of switching hotels, and the new place didn't have a really secure place for us to leave our stuff at.
Oddly, I didn't feel as badly about this loss as I did about the first experience with getting my wallet stolen. I think I knew I pretty much couldn't do anything about it, and just didn't want to make things worse by feeling really upset about it. O-dawg came through for me, because she's a total angel, and agreed to cover the rest of my expenses for the trip. I would of course pay her back.
Not having any financial means or identification, essentially anything material other than my clothing, left me to reflect on my situation... on life - Pura Vida (Costa Rica's motto). Several lessons came to me:
1. I have AMAZING friends, and depending on them every now and then is ok. O-dawg is BEAUTIFUL and wonderful. I was blessed to travel with her.
2. God has a plan. I have free will, but I have to trust in God's plan too. I was ON TOP of my bag when it was stolen. Accepting that my valuables being stolen and that I wasn't hurt was the only thing that could allow me to move on. What does pouting or being upset do? Not a whole lot and it distracts from figuring out what needs to be done post-everything stolen.
Life rolled on in Costa Rica and I continued experiencing some cool things. I saw giant green turtles come up on the beach where they were hatched years before, at midnight and lay eggs. I saw howler monkeys play in trees (they sound like Chewbacca), baby crocodiles and a stealthy mama croc about a meter away from our boat, toucans flying from tree to tree (yes, they looked like Toucan Sam from Fruit Loops), sloths chillin up high in trees, crazy iguanas with legs that look like leaves, etc etc. Nature is really cool!
Best part of the trip was having incredible conversations on spirituality with O-dawg.
In terms of self-development/growth, a couple things were realized/experienced during this trip.
1. I am still very very angry at EB3, and perhaps myself for letting things get as far as they did when I knew things were not right. It's left over baggage, and I need to somehow find a way to recognize and just release. Forgiveness and grace are the hardest things to do. That's why us mortals have problems doing it. To release I need to forgive, but I'm not sure if I need to forgive him or if I should be focused on forgiving myself.
2. I need to trust what I feel more. Messages were being sent, and I didn't heed. I had a nagging feeling for a day before the final theft and definitely right before the bag was snatched that something bad was coming. I kept having dreams about snakes. Practice in listening to my body internally is only so good if I can apply it in real life.
... yup.
