Skip Licht

Mother Nature has a way of cleansing one's soul. It's just like taking a long, hot shower from the inside out. . Daily life can wear us all out. We lie back at the end of the day at times and wonder just how we got through and made it to this finally-quiet moment, right before bedtime. And, it all starts again tomorrow. Overwhelming, yet rewarding. . "You get out of life what you put into it". There has to be an antidote for stress. . an antivenom for the poison that naturally seeps into our being, resulting from our ongoing efforts.

I wonder what it's going to take for all of us to 'return to normal'. It's a long road, don't you think? At this writing, a new year is just about a month away. Let's tidy up our 'to-do' list and start planning for the future. . let's figure out what we're going to do TODAY to create 'something to look forward to'. Let's make some profound changes in our path to sanity from this moment forward. I will warn you that it takes time and effort to do so. I once read where a study on 'human nature' showed that the average person spends more time planning for a vacation or a weekend outing (attending a sports function or going camping) than they do planning for their own future. This is rather scary and it shows how time can sneak up on all of us. How many times have you heard an older person say that they just don't know where the time went. They wake up one morning and they're 80 years old and they're full of regrets. Don't let this happen to yourself and your family. .

I'll be VERY honest with you. . and please don't hold it against me. I am definitely not a "Zen" kind of guy. I don't do yoga. I don't meditate. And I don't read the writings of monks and of ancient philosophers. There is no "ying" pulling at my "yang". I don't see dead people. .

As you probably know, Costa Rica is known worldwide for its biodiversity. Mother Nature has been very good to this country. . about the size of West Virginia (0.03 percent of the earth's surface). However, it contains just over 6 percent of the world's biodiversity. An equation made in heaven for all of us who visit for the purpose of searching out these amazing creatures presented to us in such a glorious fashion.

Costa Rica boasts of more than 850 species of birds within its borders. Consider for a moment that this number accounts for twice as many species than that of the USA & Canada combined! And this is in a country the size of West Virginia. Costa Rica certainly lives up to its 'biodiversity' label when it comes to the avian population, doesn't it?

It all starts with the simple, yet EXCITING process of planning your trip to one of the happiest countries on the planet! Heck, one can argue that even if you don't end up visiting Costa Rica, just looking at all the photos of our wildlife, our volcanoes, our beaches, our colorful fruits, our people. . THAT ALONE will put you in a great mood! It's a win-win situation with absolutely no downside. So let's get started.