Pura Vida!

It’s the national theme for Costa Rica.

You see it all over.

In parks. On business signs. Roadside. At the airport [above].

Pura Vida.

It means “Pure Life,” life for the sake of life—for the joy—and some even connect it with a miracle that occurred on August 2, 1635, when a Tico girl of mixed descent found a three-inch volcanic rock statue of Mary holding the Child (“La Negrita“; see story last week).

The secular take is that “pura vida” originated in Mexico and worked its way south as a slogan for right living.

“Costa Rica’s national saying ‘pura vida,’ which is associated with a sense of well-being, positivity, and gratitude, is far more than just a simple catchphrase,” writes a woman who was born there, explaining that the Mexican origin may have been a movie in which a man repeatedly uses the phrase to describe people and things. (“In the film, the phrase conveys a sense of gratitude, that even if you are facing difficulties, you are still alive and can look on the bright side of things,” she notes.)

“In Costa Rica I felt like a different person,” explains one woman. “Everything there seems simpler, and it changed my mindset.”

One day at a time. One step at a time.

Simplicity. Closeness to nature. Optimism even when faced with obstacles: even being grateful for them; the ability to “step back” from what may otherwise upset you and then express gratitude with every step afterward.

It is a country, Costa Rica, that’s eighty percent Catholic, and that doesn’t hurt the feeling of tranquility (despite rising crime and secularism).

The natural beauty is breathtaking, and the denizens are intent on preserving it. “Costa Ricans have a strong attachment to nature and spending time outdoors is an important part of life,” says the story accurately.

Nature. The first “temple.” God’s constantly wondrous Creation.

Important to pura vida: how we treat every single person every moment of every day.

What we seek: the Love and purity, the simplicity, of Jesus.

Famously, an area on the Pacific side of the nation, called Nicoya, is considered one of five global “blue zones,” where people live significantly longer than the global average, often surpassing 100 years.

And at the San Jose airport, the way of life—the Nicoya philosophy—is explained on a large pillar.