Yesterday, I was on Ruta 3 (route 3), a winding mountain road. Because of my disability, I always need to hire a driver if I’m going more than about 15 minutes from home. We rounded a curve and there, right in the middle of the road, was a white-faced monkey. Luckily, my driver is both skilled and cautious. He slowed to a stop, giving the monkey time to decide its next move. Thankfully, no cars were behind us.

On another trip along this same road, we found ourselves behind a car with a motorcycle in front. As we entered a curve, the motorcycle skidded out and the driver flew off. Again, we were all driving at a safe distance, and again, we were fortunate. No accidents, no injuries, and the man got up, dusted himself off, and got back on his bike.

These moments bring me to today’s reflection: slowing down.

Not just on the road, but in life.

Here in Costa Rica, life often moves at the pace of a sloth. Especially when government paperwork is involved. What we think should be simple rarely is.

I have a real estate client who purchased a home months ago and is still waiting on the final legal transfers. It’s frustrating – for them, for me, and for their attorney.

I went through something similar last year with a property I sold.

One of the big life lessons I’ve learned living here is that frustration doesn’t move things forward. We can’t force the government to work faster than it does. Living here requires accepting that truth. Sometimes things go smoothly, other times they drag on for months, or even years.

So we breathe, we wait, and we adjust our expectations. Because slowing down is part of the lesson here.