Read this one afternoon on the coast of Costa Rica.  The picture sticks with me as a way to be courageous while simply sitting still.

From Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa:

"I, for a moment, thought the situation might be awkward to him. But as we sat together in the afternoon sun, in no way pretending to keep up any conversation, but keeping one another company in a friendly spirit, I felt that to him nothing at all could be awkward.  He conveyed a strange impression of being in safety, and completely secure.  He had a courteous little manner with him and smiled and nodded, as I pointed out the hills and the tall trees to him, as if he were interested in everything, and incapable of surprise at anything.  I wondered if this consistency was produced by an entire ignorance of the evil of the world, or by a deep knowledge and acceptance of it."

Because I was in Costa Rica as I read this African story, this moment in Dinesen's book has become linked in my mind with the popular saying/greeting there, "Pura Vida," which roughly means full of life.  This man, sitting motionless, seems to me full of life and profound well-being.  I wish I could interview him and find out what he knows.

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