Last week my wife & I vacationed in Costa Rica. It is a beautiful country & we had fun adventures but I was most impressed by the happiness of the people.
The Costa Rican people have a saying – Pura Vida. They use it as a greeting or in response to a question. It means life is good. Everything is awesome. It’s an emotion, it’s an attitude, it’s happiness, and it’s a way of life.
It’s like hakuna matata from the movie The Lion King.
As native Costa Rican, Nuria Villalobos , said “Happiness, well-being, conformity and satisfaction is what “Pura vida” reflects; it identifies a Costa Rican wherever he or she may be. When you say, hear or see “Pura vida”, the facial expression of the person changes and a smile is drawn on his face. It is a very meaningful word for us “ticos” (Costa Ricans) because it reminds us of home and its beauty.”
Simply uttering those two words brings a smile to their faces.
The Costa Rican people lead simple, happy lives. They enjoy life to the fullest & are grateful for what they have.
Maybe we should all adopt the motto of Pura Vida and focus on the good parts of life. Pura Vida, this eternal optimism, becomes contagious because you can’t help being happy when you are surrounded by happy people.