In Costa Rica there’s a saying that permeates everyday life. Pura Vida literally translates to "pure life". It’s also used to mean "it’s all good". Here are a few examples.
“How are you?” “Pura Vida.”
“How’s the weather?” “Pura Vida.”
A pretty girl or cute muchacho is “Pura Vida".
Pura Vida is an attitude, a feeling. It’s all good. It’s relaxing, taking it easy. In the States we don’t have this outlook in everything we do. 
It makes me think about how we say we want to live life to the fullest. It's so hard to do when we are preoccupied with working, making more money to buy more things, commuting, running on the treadmill, falling into bed exhausted. How do we have time to really "live life", pura vida?
We say “stop and smell the roses”, “work to live, don’t live to work.” It takes five seconds to say these words, five seconds to think about the meaning before our own daily thoughts, responsibilities and to-do lists crash into our brain.
We say “stop and smell the roses”, “work to live, don’t live to work.” It takes five seconds to say these words, five seconds to think about the meaning before our own daily thoughts, responsibilities and to-do lists crash into our brain.
I'm no expert. If I figure how to make "life" better, I'll let you know. Do the same for me.
Pura vida!
Thank you to Lisa Lubin for this excellent article and to read more about Lisa Lubin's travels, go here.
