Intention is a Political Project

The other day I began to reconceive of certain political projects as acts of intention.  Specifically, I remember what guided me to certain parts of the world, like Cuba, Costa Rica, and Ecuador.  I wanted to go to Cuba to better understand the realities of socialism.  I went to Costa Rica knowing that a large portion of the wild is protected from development & also off-limits to humans for a day each week.  After learning that in 2008 Ecuador amended its constitution to reflect the rights of animals, land, and bodies of water, I booked a trip.

In each of these places there is still tremendous work to be done to live upto stated ideals.  However, in my own (limited) experience in these places, I did come to understand the power of these intentions.

I was an exchange student in Havana, Cuba for a semester in 2001.  I remember being so overwhelmed by the lack of privacy.  Any time I walked down the street someone would sidle up and walk alongside me, making animated conversation.  Now, those of you who know me know that I can talk.  This overwhelmed even me!  I'm accustomed to a certain level of anonymity on U.S. streets.  I'm used to being able to walk out my door, to a coffee shop, and reside in the privacy of my own thoughts.  That simply wasn't an option in Cuba.  I remember spending too much time in my room (much to my roommate's chagrin) simply because I wanted time with no questions, no conversation, no quick friendships.

My roommate, Kieu, across the table in Barrio Chino, Havana, Cuba

Finally, I asked one of my new best friend's why I couldn't have any privacy.  "Privacy?  Why do you need privacy?  This is a Socialist country.  We share resources and space.  What do you need for yourself?"  It was such an interesting response.  I had never considered the impact of economic organization on my interpersonal relationship!  Why did I deserve privacy?  What did it really accomplish?  Throughout the world people and animals live much more communally and much more publicly.  There are benefits and deficits to this just as there are benefits and deficits to having privacy.  It's simply a matter of what we're accustomed to-- the space to which we feel entitled.

There were so many similar lessons in Cuba.  I met people who had been part of the Revolution and recalled their ideals, their intentions.  Another aspect of no privacy was relentless cat calls, the ubiquitous, "Oya, nena!" accompanied by hissing sounds.  I found a feminist who had thrown molotov cocktails to oust Batista, alongside Che.  I asked her how she reconciled some of these ideals of equality with such prevalent street harassment of women.  She recalled having visited the U.S. in her youth.  "I felt invisible there."  She mentioned that in the U.S. catcalls often spoke to another type of aggression-- the threat of physical attack by men on women.  While these attacks certainly occur in Cuba as well, they're not always linked to verbal attention.  Again, I can't say I feel comfortable with men's vocal comments to women on the streets of Havana, but it helped me understand that it didn't necessarily signify the same as in the U.S.

Kevin biking on the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

When Kevin & I traveled to Costa Rica, I was initially shocked to learn that most parks were closed for a day out of every week to give the land, plants, and animals a respite from human presence.  A troubling sense of entitlement bubbled up in me, "Why can't I go?  That's inconvenient for me to reschedule."  On second thought, I was able to grasp how little my convenience mattered in the larger scale of prioritizing the needs of the natural world.  Again, this policy of rest for these spaces doesn't completely combat the ills of human presence on the natural world.  It's a step, and a powerful step.  It shifted, greatly, my sense of the needs of the natural world.

Basilica Del Voto, Quito, Ecuador

On our first day in Quito, Ecuador, Kevin & I visited the Basilica del Voto.  This Basilica famously depicts many images from the natural world to best show worship to the divine presence in all things.  As the photos above demonstrate, any view might offer a turtle, toucan, goat, or tree.  The holiness of the natural world is brought within the walls of the Basilica.

Ecuador changed its Constitution to reflect the rights of land, water, air, plants, and animals.  Perhaps this intention is best demonstrated on the Galapagos islands.

Floreana Island, Galapagos, Ecuador

We were searched thoroughly before flying to the Galapagos.  Park security is vigilant to ensure that no foreign seeds, animals, or other potentially interfering matter is brought into the delicate eco-system of the archipelago.  Hiking through the Charles Darwin center, we found plenty of public restrooms, trashcans, recycing, and compost centers.  I was surprised!  Kevin pointed out that where there aren't publicly accessible restrooms, people make other arrangements.  This certainly will affect plant, soil, and animal life.

Heron, Tortuga Bay, Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos, Ecuador

Iguana, Tortuga Bay, Isla Santa Cruz, Ecuador

Tortuga Bay on Isla Santa Cruz, was our favorite beach on the Galapagos.  These iguanas sun, swim, & live throughout the beach.  Therefore the beach is only open from 6-6 every day.  After sundown humans are cleared off the beach.  This also gives the turtles opportunity to come on shore.

None of these policies has completely stabilized the intricate network of human, plant, and animal needs.  I don't know of a community that has found the balance necessary for optimal health for all.  However, the collective intention, the stated goal of care & protection for one another, and specific populations, shifts the attention of everyone within the community.  As a visitor to all these places, I was deeply changed.  I carry these lessons & work to enact them in my daily life.  I set intention and recognize the power and potential in that act.

Plant Rights

Part of the reason I am excited to travel to Ecuador this winter is to better gauge what it's like to live within a Constitution that recognizes rights of the natural world.  Ecuador's Constitution changed in 2008 to offer rights to plant life and acknowledge other aspects of the natural world, like rivers and soil.  I've experienced some of a cultural shift towards greater ecology in Costa Rica, where so much of public life is dominated by ideas on sustainable stewardship of land.  National parks close at least one day per week to allow plant and animal life to live unimpeded by human interruption.

Recently I came across an NPR piece profiling the plant's rights movement.  Early in the piece, the author described a debate between a plant's rights advocate and a dissenter, who described plant's rights as a challenge to the animal rights' movement.  The logic is that by acknowledging that plants feel and sense similarly to sentient life, complicates animal advocates urge towards plant-based diets.  I hear that, but I also have a hard time with how quick like-minded people are to argue.  I'm not saying that exploring ideas and controversy shouldn't be encouraged.  However, it seems that similarly-minded people are quick to define boundaries and areas of conflict.

I've been a vegetarian since I was 18 for both moral and health reasons.  I do eat a plant-based diet, but I will eat eggs and dairy, especially if I'm traveling in a part of the world where a strictly plant-based diet is challenging to realize.  I absolutely believe that plants feel.  Certainly they may not feel to the extent a pig or a human does.  There is evidence of human-like behavior in plants ranging from responses to music or chemically responding to other plants living nearby.  I don't think that respecting plants means I won't or can't eat them.  I have complicated feelings around eating eggs and cheese, mainly because of my absolute opposition to the meat and dairy industry in the US.  Ideally, I'd like to either grow or know the source of all my food.  Knowing that my food feels and lives as I do inspires in me a desire to show more reverence and respect for what I eat.  & to advocate just as strenuously for both animal and plant life.

Examining our role in the food cycle doesn't mean we'll arrive at purity.  In my mind, paying attention to consumption and the lives of what (& who) we eat is perhaps a spiritual act.  A reminder that we're all connected within the larger realm of life, that we really are comprised of soil and earth, and to perhaps show greatest gratitude for sustenance by offering rights and respect for all plants, animals, and living forces.

Finding your path in Costa Rica

Five years ago Kevin & I bypassed Tofurkeys and chose Thanksgiving in Costa Rica.  Best decision ever.  We remembered it was Thanksgiving in the United States while watching the sun descend over the ocean.  I've since sent friends and clients to Costa Rica.  It's a great place to travel-- Costa Rica implemented one of the first sustainable tourism models.  Not without its kinks, it's still a fantastic effort towards protecting land and resources while reinvesting tourism dollars into the host economy.

Here are a few of my tips for Costa Rica travel:

San Jose
Most international flights will take you to the capital.  You can fly to Liberia, on the West Coast, but it is more expensive.  San Jose is a nice place to live & work, but it's not that exciting for a traveler.  A gem is Hotel Grano de Oro.  It is more costly than many of the hotels I frequent, but in this case I think it's worth it. The hotel's cafe is probably the best restaurant in San Jose.  You'll need slightly formal wear for dinner-- jackets for guys, skirts for ladies.  Again, I rarely even pack this type of attire, but it's worth it for Grano de Oro.  We punctuated the beginning and end of our Costa Rican journey with the sweet sophistication of the open courtyard and high mountain air.

Montezuma
This artsy town on the Nicoya Peninsula is my favorite spot in Costa Rica.  We were drawn to this small village because it's nestled between ocean and protected jungle.  Given these conditions, the town cannot grow much.  Instead, this three street stop overflows with artists, farmers, environmental conscience, and local life.  This town is also home to one of Costa Rica's top restaurants: Playa de Los Artistas.  (Can you tell I pay a lot of attention to food when traveling?)

Oso Peninsula
It's hard to reach, but that's part of its charm.  I've been reccomended away from this region during the euphemistically termed "green season" (read "rainy season").  Roads can wash out completely.  Check into conditions.  It's worth the trip!

Manzanilla
Last stop on the Caribbean coast before Panama.  We haven't made it there yet, but it's on my short list for our next jaunt to Costa Rica.  I feel a little kinship to the area, having spent time on the opposite side of the border.  A few years ago Kevin & I stayed in Bocas del Toro, Panama, an archipelago directly across the border from this town in Costa Rica.  It's a breath-taking region.  It's also a rain forest, and there is rain most of the year.  This means the area is verdant and fresh, but if you're looking for sunny days you probably want to head to the Pacific side.

Last Bits
It's easy to be vegetarian in Costa Rica and possible to be vegan.  (It may mean making friends with lots of beans and rice.)

There are tons of vacation homes to rent with groups.  Costa Rica is a really approachable destination for groups of people-- this can also be a great way to cut costs.

Consider supporting community efforts and environmental work while traveling.  There are great ways to be involved and know the land more intimately.

We loved spending November in Costa Rica.  You're at the tail end of the green season, so plant life is lush and verdant after several months of hydration.  Prices are still lowered and don't begin rising until December.  Tourist crowds are also lower.  It was truly ideal.

I hear some people complain that Costa Rica has less of a cultural presence than neighbors like Nicaragua or Panama.  It's debatable.  Admittedly, I tend to be pretty polly-anna-ish about any opportunity to travel, & therefore become enthusiastic of some aspect of my host location.  Decide why you're going to any destination.  Some of the enticing features of Costa Rica are the land itself.  Let its presence speak most loudly-- and respect the inclinations of Costa Ricans to offer it time, privacy, shelter, and space.

Wanna go?  I'd be happy to help with the logistics.  Email maiga@yogawood.com.

Space

Yesterday I was able to spend a bunch of quality time with a friend.  She recently finished residency at Goddard, where Kevin graduated.  As a Black woman, she was a part of a group of students of color who created some space to share thoughts, ideas, & concerns about life & academia at Goddard.  It was a big hulabaloo.  White students felt excluded & couldn't understand why students of color wanted an opportunity to share amongst themselves.  My friend had lunch with a white student who was particularly distraught over this event.  The white student couldn't understand why it was important to students of color to have space where they didn't have to explain themselves & their experience.

Most of us who have worked towards safe space & recognition on campuses or in communities have been a part of similar conversations.  Trying to help broaden a sense of understanding & also respect for experiences we can't understand.  There is always something outside of the realm of my knowledge, so maybe part of the work of being a conscious being is being humble to that fact.

Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

My friend and I began remembering various moments of carving out space.  We compared stories of Costa Rica, where we'd both spent time.  I remember arriving at national parks to find them closed.  My first reaction was, "Seriously!  I'm here for a limited time.  I rented a bike."  Hands were probably on hips. Thankfully, patient people explained to me that there's a national policy to close parks one day out of every week so that the animals and plant life have a breather from humans.  That shut me up.  What a shift in perspective too-- only one day out of every week to live without interference, gawkers, cameras, heavy footed hikers.  & what about all the swathes of earth without relent from human presence?

Earlier, when I was 20, I studied abroad for a semester in Cuba.  I had a beautiful conversation one afternoon in Havana with a woman who had played a large role in the Revolution.  I had come to her because I was struggling to understand gender dynamics in Cuba.  I was exhausted from constant cat calls, "sss sss, oya nena!  Oya!"  I could never be anonymous, never walk down the street uninterrupted nor unaccompanied.  Accustomed to the privacy of the northeast of the US, I often hid in my dorm room.

20 year old me eating cotton candy on a merry go round in Parque Lenin, Cuba

This woman had been a wealthy college student when Fidel & Che swept through Havana.  She was a part of the student movement making molotov cocktails & helping former prostitutes resettle for housing and job training in the fancy, exclusive downtown hotels after Batista was ousted.  She recalled to me when she had visited Chicago.  "I felt invisible," she said.

She helped organize women into the Women's Federation, a body representing 80% of Cuban women.  They met regularly and annually presented to Fidel, Raul, and the top cadre for five days on issues impacting Cuban women.  That floored me.  At the time, Bush was president of the US.  First, I tried to imagine a body that represented 80% of US women.  Then I tried to imagine Bush listening for FIVE DAYS to this presentation.  And then I thought what a small percentage of a year-- 5 days out of 365!

Gathering space for growth.  I feel this internally as I practice yoga.  Learning to lengthen spine and allow for there to be more-- more communication, more presence.  Maybe becoming slightly more adept at allowing the same for others-- animals to have uninterrupted space, those I love whose experiences are distinct to have space to share & explore-- allowing each of us to be a bit more unimpeded.