The Unbearable Lightness of Being

I have just returned from an amazing adventure in Punta Banco, Costa Rica!

I am happy to report that Traveling Postcards was met in Costa Rica with the same eagerness and enthusiasm as so often happens in the United States.

Through the heroic efforts of both Jan Jastrab and Ashlie Gaos, my intentions to connect and honor women worldwide were easily translated and a group of women and girls set to work! I was struck with how effortlessly women express their voices given the opportunity, and how often their voices speak about love, and forgiveness. Many women made two or three cards and everyone of them was brought home in my suitcase and are bound for new travels in Africa and the United States.

A highlight of the trip was an opportunity to travel high into the jungle to visit an indigenous Guyami family. There we were

greeted by a Ramon, Elena and their four daughters.

We were completely soaked from both sweat and rain and gratefully settled in under their thatched roof for a cup of sweet coffee. Slowly we brought out pastels and paper and eventually moved to making and giving Traveling Postcards. The Guaymi are known for their beautiful “Panamanian” hats and small bags all handmade from plant fibers. The women make beautiful dresses which always looked perfectly clean and ironed! I don’t know how they do it, as I always seemed to look like a drowned rat! Their culture is extremely creative, and most of their income comes from selling their wares to tourists like me.

I have learned that there are so many paths to creative expression and so many paths to understanding our deep connections with one another.

I left all the art making supplies I had with the two youngest daughters and was grateful that I could make a small difference. Each girl owned a backpack that hung on a wooden pole of their hut. After receiving and looking at their Traveling Postcard, they quickly put their card into their pack. I felt sure in that moment, that these girls, who live in a very remote part of Costa Rica, knew that they were a part of a larger community who care about the health and well being of all women.

My experience in the town of Punta Banco was one of tolerance, mindfulness and simple happiness. I learned to live without hot water or clean clothes. I learned that peace and fulfillment come from within and is available to us all, at all times. And I learned that the greatest love can come from an unexpected connection in a small town where I had never been before, but now holds a piece of my heart forever.

Please help to spread the word that women care for each other deeply, that their sons and daughters and partners honor their lives and that sharing the knowledge that rests in our hearts can help ease suffering worldwide.

Please look to www.travelingpostcards.org to see all the beautiful cards that were made.

Don’t forget that anyone can hold a Traveling Postcards event in their own community.

I am always looking for new opportunities for Traveling Postcards, and new ways to spread the word. If you would like to participate, please email me a cslov@comcast.net

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Happy new beginnings!