Pura vida (Pure life)

Yesterday we walked southward along the beach down to the end of Playa Carmen and the start of Mal Pais. Took us a leisurely hour. We found a small but modern shopping complex that looked brand new. It had small shops selling trinklets, surf wear, fish, beauty services and the gem of the whole lot - a trade and exchange bookshop! What a find! Amber noticed 2 books in there that were on her reading list. My last book was that biography of Gandhi which I had left in Monteverde and had my eyes peeled for another. Among the several I was tempted to acquire, I chose Quantum and the Lotus. The authors are Matthieu Ricard, a molecular biologist turned Buddist monk/official French translator for the Dalai Lama, and Trinh Xuan Thuan, an astrophysicist and specialist on how galaxies are formed. They discuss in this book the parallels between physics and Buddism.

Amber doing a handstand along walk to local shopping complex.

The bookshop is going to be useful. I anticipate reading a lot over the next 6 weeks before we leave for New York, but having this bookshop will ensure we have reading material for our next leg of our journey.

At our second surf today I watched a really good blonde male surfer in the water. He was turning and weaving his was on the waves with mastery. You can tell the locals from the visitors here. Pale and lumpy beach joggers at 5-ish in the afternoon versus the tanned, lean and ripped swagger of costa denizens. What a great way to stay healthy, combined with a customary diet of beans, rice, vegetables and fruit. Including that one have a desire for spiritual and practical secular knowledge, what else could one need?

Later, I noticed a few adolescent bodyboarders occupy the same area of water as blondie. They were obviously in the way of him and his waves and he showed aversion by surfing uncomfortably close to them in attempt in shooing them away. This reminded me of a segment in Quantum and the Lotus: Unless there is a shift in human consciousness and endeavor towards altruism for fellow human beings, the world will continue to see war and suffering (in my own words). The surfer had to find another spot.

I was crabby for most of the afternoon. In the moment I was almost perplexed by how and why I was feeling this way. I felt powerless in the subjugation of my aggravation. It discouraged me to feel that even in a near ideal environment and a perfectly scheduled morning, doing the stuff I think most important, that I could still feel miserable. The closest around me (Amber) are affected and I lament in retrospect over my behavior. Yet, in the moment, it's a struggle to overcome my emotions. I continue feel deeply that to have  a sense of plentitude at the end of this life is to have control over my mind.