There Was Something About Costa Rica

The waterfalls.

The jungle air.

The rivers winding through the trees.

Fresh fruit in the morning.Long conversations at night. Laughing until our stomachs hurt. Watching monkeys swing through the trees while the ocean breeze moved through the palms.

There was something about Costa Rica that felt different from anywhere I’ve ever experienced.

Not just beautiful.

Alive.

I recently traveled there with my daughter, and somewhere between swimming beneath waterfalls, floating through jungle rivers, visiting animal sanctuaries, hiking through breathtaking landscapes, and sharing healthy meals together…

something inside both of us softened.

Life slowed down.

We became more present.More connected. More grateful.More joyful.

And honestly…

I didn’t realize how much I needed that.

One of the things you hear constantly in Costa Rica is the phrase:

Pura Vida.

At first it sounds like a simple saying.

But after spending time there, I realized it is much more than that.

It is a way of living.

A way of moving through life with more presence, gratitude, connection, joy, simplicity, and peace.

And somehow that spirit seems woven into the entire country.

People smile at you.Meals are meant to be savored. Nature is everywhere. Conversations slow down. Beauty becomes impossible to ignore.

You begin remembering what life feels like when you are not constantly rushing.

And perhaps most surprisingly…

you begin reconnecting with yourself again.

Some of my favorite moments were not even the “big adventures.”

They were the simpler moments.

Sitting together after a long day. Watching the sunset quietly. Laughing over dinner. Listening to the sounds of nature at night. Laying next to one another on 2 massage tables in a cabana by the ocean getting a massage. Feeling fully the ocean breeze being present without distraction.

There was a kind of healing happening there that had nothing to do with “fixing” ourselves.

It was simply remembering how to live.

I believe nature has a way of gently reconnecting us to what matters most.

To our breath.To our bodies.To our spirit.To one another.

And after returning home, I could not stop thinking about one thing:

Other women deserve to feel this too.

Not just see beautiful pictures online…but truly experience the feeling of reconnecting with joy, nature, adventure, sisterhood, presence, and the deeper rhythm of life.

That experience inspired me to begin creating something very special in Costa Rica for women who are longing to reconnect with themselves again.

Not just a trip.

An experience.

A feeling.

A return to what truly matters.

And honestly…

I think many of us are craving exactly that right now.

There are some places in the world that stay with you long after you leave them.

Not because they were luxurious.Not because they were perfect.Not because they looked beautiful in photographs.

But because something inside you shifted while you were there.

Something softened.Something opened. Something remembered.

Before this trip, life had felt busy in the way life often does. Schedules. Responsibilities.Work.Thinking.Planning. Doing.Always moving from one thing to the next.

Like so many women, I think I had slowly gotten used to living with a certain level of tension in my body and mind without even realizing it.

Not dramatic stress. Just the quiet kind.

The kind that accumulates over time.

The kind that disconnects us from ourselves little by little.

The kind that makes us forget how deeply nourishing life can actually feel.

But something changed in Costa Rica.

Almost immediately.

From the moment we arrived, there was a different energy.

The air felt different.The pace felt different.The people felt different.

There was a warmth there that had nothing to do with temperature.

People smiled at you.Conversations slowed down. Meals were shared and savored. Nature was not something “extra” added to life…

Nature was life.

And everywhere we went, we heard the same words:

Pura Vida.

The longer we stayed, the more I began to understand that Pura Vida is not just something Costa Ricans say.

It is something they live.

Pura Vida literally translates to “pure life,” but its deeper meaning feels much more expansive than that.

It is a philosophy. A rhythm. A way of moving through the world.

It is an understanding that life is meant to be lived with presence, gratitude, simplicity, connection, and joy.

Not rushed. Not forced. Not endlessly striving.

But truly lived.

And somehow that spirit has shaped the energy of an entire country.

There is a softness there. A humanity there. A sense that people still remember what actually matters.

And I think that is why so many people leave Costa Rica feeling changed.

Because modern life can slowly pull us away from ourselves without us even noticing.

We become productive…but disconnected.

Busy…but emotionally exhausted.

Constantly stimulated…but spiritually depleted.

We scroll. We multitask.We overthink.We rush.

And eventually we stop noticing beauty altogether.

But Costa Rica invites you to notice again.

To feel again.

To slow down enough to become present to your own life.

Every day brought another adventure.

We hiked through lush landscapes that looked almost unreal. We visited animal sanctuaries and stood in awe of creatures living freely within nature.

We floated through rivers surrounded by jungle. We swam beneath waterfalls with water so fresh and alive it felt cleansing in more ways than one. We listened to the sounds of nature at night instead of the constant noise of modern life.

And somewhere between the rivers, the waterfalls, the laughter, the fresh food, and the long meaningful conversations…

something inside me began to exhale.

Not just physically.

Spiritually.

I think nature has a way of gently removing the layers we accumulate in everyday life.

The pressure.The tension.The noise.The endless mental chatter.

And beneath all of that…

we rediscover ourselves again.

There is something incredibly healing about being surrounded by living beauty.

The movement of water. The rhythm of the ocean.The sounds of birds in the trees.The warmth of the sun.The smell of rain in the jungle.The feeling of walking barefoot.The simplicity of eating fresh nourishing food.The experience of being fully present with people you love.

Nature reminds us that we are not machines.

We are living beings.

And somewhere along the way, many of us forgot that.

I noticed how differently we felt there.

We laughed more. We talked more deeply. We were more present with one another. We looked up more.We put our phones down more.We noticed small moments again.

There was space to simply be.

And in that space, connection naturally returned.

Not forced connection. Not scheduled connection. Real connection.

The kind that happens when people slow down enough to truly see one another.

And I think that is part of the magic of Pura Vida.

It gently teaches you that joy does not always come from achievement.

Sometimes joy comes from presence.

Sometimes joy comes from simplicity.

Sometimes joy comes from remembering how to actually experience your own life instead of constantly managing it.

And perhaps that is why so many people feel transformed after spending time in nature.

Nature reconnects us to what is real.

To our bodies.To our breath.To the present moment.To each other.

It quiets the constant mental noise long enough for us to hear our own spirit again.

This trip touched me deeply.

Not in a loud dramatic way.

But in a grounded, lasting way.

It reminded me that healing does not always happen through force.

Sometimes healing happens through experience.

Through laughter.Through movement.Through sisterhood.Through nature.Through beauty.Through shared moments.Through feeling safe enough to soften again.

And when I returned home, I could not stop thinking about one thing:

Other women deserve to feel this too.

Not just see pictures of Costa Rica online. Not just dream about a different life someday. Not just survive until retirement hoping joy will eventually arrive.

But truly experience what it feels like to reconnect with themselves in a deep and meaningful way.

To wake up feeling inspired.To move their bodies naturally.To nourish themselves fully.To laugh freely.To reconnect with joy.To reconnect with wonder.To reconnect with life.

That is why I have decided to return to Costa Rica and begin creating a retreat experience centered around everything we felt there.

Not simply a trip.

An experience.

An invitation back to yourself.

A chance to reconnect with nature, sisterhood, presence, joy, adventure, healing, and the deeper rhythm of life.

Because I believe many women are not actually exhausted from life itself.

I think they are exhausted from disconnection.

Disconnection from nature. Disconnection from joy. Disconnection from their bodies. Disconnection from meaningful rest.Disconnection from community. Disconnection from themselves.

And when those connections begin returning…

something beautiful happens.

You begin feeling alive again.

That is the feeling I brought home from Costa Rica.

And honestly…

I never want to lose it.

Pura Vida

Pura Vida is more than a phrase.

It is a reminder to spread and live the Pura Vida lifestyle.

A reminder to slow down enough to live. A reminder to notice beauty. A reminder to stay connected to what matters.

A reminder that life is not meant to only be endured. A reminder that joy is still available. A reminder that nature heals in ways we often underestimate.

A reminder that sisterhood matters. A reminder that presence itself can become medicine.

And perhaps most importantly…

a reminder that it is never too late to reconnect with yourself again.

You are Just One Zesty Change Away!

Pura Vida,Sharon