Who would have thought that someone terrified of snakes, frogs, spiders and anything else creepy crawly could last 15 days in Costa Rica and part of that on a farm smack dab in the middle of the rainforest? I almost turned down this trip because of my fears and anxieties and I am so glad I did not. In two weeks I challenged the better part of all my phobias and came out stronger than ever. Are they cured, not so much, but I am well on my way there.
My first night in the rainforest lying in bed with my sister staring at the creepy crawlers on the wall and waiting for the lizards and snakes to find their way in, I kept thinking to myself “What am I doing here? You can’t do this! This isn’t for you!” I had two sleepless nights and that does not bode well when you are challenging yourself emotionally and physically all day. Night three finally came along and after a 6 hour hike up a volcano and 4 hours of yoga I was beyond exhausted and home sick. I even contemplated leaving paradise early. When I took back my brain, from my emotions and fears, I realized I had to make a choice. Either I could not sleep and be terrified of everything that moves (and that’s EVERYTHING in the rainforest) or I could suck it up and enjoy being in one of the most magical places in the world. That was the first night I slept and sleep followed every other night as well.
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| Take deep breaths to get you through! |
Then I had to deal with my fear of heights which my husband finds hilarious, he says “Babe you’re an amazon, the fall is so much shorter for you. How can you be scarred?” As if facing all my critter fears was not enough, the majority of the activities that my family had chosen for our trip where at extreme heights. The first was zip lining over the rainforest and not just regular zip lining they had to choose the one with the greatest lengths and heights. I remember the guide strapping me up for one of the biggest lines and asking me if I was ready, I said no and he said to bad and off I went. My eyes were shut tight as I could feel the wind shaking my line and I knew there was no turning back. I forced myself to open my eyes and WOW, I am so glad I did. The view at 400 Ft. is spectacular, I never had time to be mad at the guide because I was so energized from the view and happy that he did not let me be one of the people too scared to experience this. If the zip lining was not enough we followed it up with crazy hikes and canyoneering, where they drop you down waterfalls as high as 220 ft.
Going from being terrified to do any of the before mentioned activities to being the first to drop down the waterfall and say “Let’s do it again”, is an experience I am so glad I did not pass up.
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| OMG! How many feet? lol |
As the days went by, I walked passed frogs without screaming and walked over bugs that before terrified me. I even left my cabin at night…lol I learnt so much about myself, how far I could come and how much I could take. It is easy to be scared; it’s difficult to be brave but much more worth it.
I am so glad I pushed myself to explore and experience everything. I was so proud of myself and have amazing memories. My fears may not have disappeared but they are definitely shrinking and I now know what I am capable of.
So the next time you’re about to say no because your phobias are holding you back, stop and think about it instead of just saying no . Think about what you’re missing out on. Start with baby steps or do like me and just jump in. Whatever your method is just try; try and work your way through those fears because there’s a whole magical world waiting for you to explore once you do!
"Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it." ~ Bill Cosby
Lotsa Love,
Tasha
Great pics :)
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