Room—or Make That Casita--With a View

This part of Costa Rica is filled with unbelievable views, and I had no idea in advance just what my exact writing view from within the Casita looking out while writing would be.

Of stunning Lake Arenal?            

Of the purplish misty mountains that surround parts of the lake?

Of towering rain forests?

I have two 39 x 39 windows in my place (plus a smaller one in the kitchen), and the large one that faces south is the one that provides the most direct views while I write. “Towering rainforest” is closest of my advance guesses, as you can see from some of the close-up shots below. 

 

But there is also the added piece I didn’t guess. The rest of my view from my writing window--just to the left of that private rainforest--strongly resembles the Swiss alps which I fell in love with while in that country.  This part of Costa Rica is frequently compared to Switzerland and is farmed in similar ways, with herds of animals grazing on the mountains that I can see from a distance from my window, and with the cattle here led up and down the slopes daily as well.

 

And as to the other views mentioned above, if I walk just a few steps out my backdoor, I can see my other two advance guesses: Lake Arenal and the misty purple mountain views.

 

 

I have also been told there is a route down through the backs of the buildings and into the ravine to get much closer to the lake, so I'll be taking my little writing stool down there with me sometime once I'm past a few more learning curves!

This is the back of my Casita, and those banana trees are my view while I work in the kitchen through the small window there, with the cows and their calves frequently feeding in the pasture right behind them in view, mooing away at me while I write.

 

 

This is the large front window view from my Casita.  It is the window most frequently curtained off to block out the midday sun and for privacy from the rest of the farm.  But when it is open, I have this unusual mix of exotic meets comical for my view.  The red building is the home of this sow who just gave birth to about eight little piglets recently, and they are pretty hilarious to watch running around tripping over themselves!  And if you've never seen a sow that size run at full tilt, it's quite a sight, too.  (I didn't even know they could!)

I feel like I’m living in Charlotte’s Web or maybe Babe some days, with free entertainment out the front window when I want it.

And in the evenings, right around 6 p.m. when sundown hits consistently year-round here, I pull back the curtains on this window and let in an incredible sunset view.

Makes Me Think…

One of my mentor coaches used to say, “Being around nature evolves you.”  It grows you.  Transforms you.

Or it can, at least.

Maybe that’s why I’ve always had such a draw toward it, from early childhood onward.  There’s something about being surrounded by life and all of its phases and cycles that stimulates my best and most creative work.

And maybe in the process, it is teaching me daily lessons that continue to shape me as a person, too?

No matter how many times I look at the view out my writing window especially, I see something different—reminding me how true that is of life and the human experience when examined closely as well.  Just when we think we have it all figured out, something new pops up to surprise us and keep us on a lifelong learning curve.

In addition to all the variety in foliage that you can see in these pictures, the birds and butterflies that fly past my window are incredibly varied as well.  Some are ones I know; others are brand new to me--such as this cross between a hawk and a wild turkey that regularly swoops past my writing window so low and close I can almost reach out through the glass slats and touch it!

 

Others of the birds and butterflies, though, I have never seen before, reminding me that stretching beyond our comfort zone and the familiar opens our eyes to things we haven’t even imagined, to worlds we haven’t taken the time to consider beyond our own one close at hand.

Evolving, life-giving ground for creative work, and to renew me when the work gets emotionally intense.  Live-giving ground for looking at a dark and difficult subject in new and innovative ways, I hope!