Nicaragua – Unplugged and Recharged

By Elizabeth Campbell

In February 2013, I traveled as the counseling support for the Yoga Teacher Training Beyond Asana to build a school with the organization Build On in Ganeshpur, Nepal.  My experience deepened my presence in my counseling practice and in other relationships greatly.  This year we traveled to two villages in the mountains of Nicaragua to build schools in San Benito and Las Cuarentas.  The lesson this year was layered onto my experience of last year.  Not only is it possible to communicate with individuals that do not speak our language, but the depth of that very connection is what sustains us all…no matter what language, nationality, or socioeconomic status defines us. 

Two weeks in rural Nicaragua freed up space for me.  There was no electricity, no television, no cell phones, and no running water.  The absence of those luxuries gave me a greater gift…the space to connect.   When we ate meals, no one was taking pictures of the meal to post on Facebook or excusing themselves for a phone call.  The television did not distract us from interacting.  At night, there was nothing to do but engage with one another.  We simply connected.  And joining with the beautiful souls of San Benito and Las Cuarentas completely sustained me, regardless of what luxuries were missing. 

How does one carry that connection back into an area that has traffic, cell phones, television, and any other number of distractions?  The Filial child-parent relationship training that I hold concurrently with play therapy sessions encourages parents to “focus on the donut, not the hole.”  In other words, your relationship with your child is more important than any issue or problem occurring.  Nicaragua taught me that any relationship is more important.  It is more important to look into your loved one’s eyes rather than stare at a television screen, more important to call a friend than to text, more important to enjoy the experience of a delicious dinner than to tell people in social networking about it.  In our attempt to speed up our efficiency and our connection with others, we have efficiently disconnected.  I am carrying the beauty of my experience connecting with those in Nicaragua by connecting with those that I encounter here.  And I would love for this to ripple to others and the beauty of Nicaragua could cause connections upon connections in our community.  Along this line, I call all readers and community members of the Resiliency Center to action.  How can you connect today?