Thoughts from 7 Months in the Deep Blue Sea

Greetings,

Life is a game of growth, whether you’re that strain of grass deep in a green pasture or fighting for a foothold through some crack in the concrete. If you believe you’ll find what you’re looking for in life, it’s all a matter of growth. Sometimes you’ll need to make a move and other times you’ll need to be wise enough to know when to stay where you are. You grow while you rest, yes?I’m at that point where I’ve been 7 of the last 18 months on this tiny rock and starting, just starting to wonder what’s happening in other parts of the world.  I’ve gone N-E-W-S and keep finding an ocean paradise, but what else is out there?

The flip side is that spending this much time in one location, I’m growing. As a traveler who is there for a week or a month, you almost subconsciously behave differently and find yourself caught up in the superficial flow of a location meeting plastic figurines selling you tangerine dreams. The longer you stay the lower you sink in the waters until you’re in the deep blue. If you want to make it there and thrive, you better have grown because small fish don’t last long in the deep blue, they’re called bait.

Coming from Canada, we have ways of doing things. They have ways of doing things here in Nicaragua and even more so in the Autonomous Zone of the Southern Atlantic. From business to daily life, it’s a big flip from the corner of the coin I grew up on and the feelings of growth are taking place. I haven’t had this feeling for a while; whereas you start to see things differently. As you grow, big deals turn into minor nuisances and one learns the magic tricks of turning a noose into a ladder and some random flour into delicious batter.

I’m realizing that the expat who moves to city X and lives his/her life there is missing out on so much of what the world has to offer. What I’ve realized even more so is that the traveller who merely pops in, collects stamps and sees a few popular sights  misses out on even more. The balance is to explore and drift like a seed in the wind while also grabbing enough soil to take roots. As we grow into the creatures we were destined to become; it’s important to look at the bigger picture, yes?

More than ever I’m interested in seeing the rest of the world, EVERYWHERE.  I want to soak in cold mountain streams without a soul in sight and spend time laying on brilliant beaches where all you can see is white. I’d like to take long buses that run all night and chomp down on exotic meals with a big old once bucked tooth bite. I’m not sure if this is wrong or right but all I can say is it’s worth the fight.  Living here has opened my eyes a little more to what I want in life…

Being anonymous in a city is an amazing feeling, ever done it? Options abound and you can be one of those fools who like to tell stories and act all tough. If you’ve already figured out whom you are in life you can search and scour the landscape to find that diamond in the rough. As we grow older, I believe we’re all looking for deeper and meaningful connections with the world around us. It’s important to set out on that late night drive to find yourself and what you want but realize that if you’re in a fast car with lots of gas; you must keep your eyes open or you’ll surely miss your exit, it’s dark out there.

I’d continue but I think I’ve said enough and remember this; Monday is the worst day of the week for the uninspired employee but the most exciting one for an invested owner. Find what works for you but before you hit the highway again, try and see the big picture and make the effort to find that spot with the view, it’s never what you thought but always more beautiful and definitely worth the hike…
Tips hat,

P.S: Photo is of Big Corn Island, Little Corn where I am is 1/3 the size.