The last 6 weeks have been an amazing whirlwind of everything all happening at once. I came down here to get everything set up and ready to start running training intensives. Along the way, a whole bunch of friends have come down to help out and turn this jungle eco-centre into a retreat. Without them, this would have been an insurmountable project.
It’s incredible to be a part of this vibrant Navina community. From day one, our intention has been to truly foster community in everything that we do. For sure we’ve stumbled and learned a lot along the way but we try our hardest to live and breathe a philosophy of bringing people together through compassionate touch in a way that makes people understand that they are an integral part of the broader context of the work we are doing.
Out of all the challenges we’ve worked through I think Navina™ Costa Rica was the ultimate test so far.
We want to create a retreat centre that is designed around community. We want it to be a place where our international community can come to feel safe, nurtured and to continue their education. We want it to be a forum and home for other international movers, shakers and educators. We want people to come from all corners of the globe to take better care of themselves, take better care of others, learn, live, teach and all the good things. And we want it to be an opportunity for us to integrate into the local Costa Rican culture. At every level this place needs to be about community.
And so in preparation for our first training intensive, we created an open invitation for anyone in our tribe to come down and be with us here, and help out in the setup of the centre. They knew it was going to be work.
That’s what makes this so special. So many of our tribe came down to help out. It blew us away. And I can tell you that without a shadow of a doubt, this place would not have been ready, had it not been for all the blood, sweat and tears that this tribe put into Navina™ Costa Rica.
They scrubbed, they raked, they dug, they shovelled, they constructed, they deconstructed, they repaired, they cooked, they lifted, they carried – they helped in every possible way, in everything that needed to be done. They worked tirelessly and without complaint. They created this.
There are no words that can adequately sum up how incredibly grateful we are to all of you who have helped out, in any way (between when we started to plan this in March 2016, and now). We are completely and utterly flabbergasted by all the things you’ve done for us and for the creation of this centre.
This truly is a space for community. Made entirely by community.
Take a look at this video compilation of some of their work, and some of the adventures we shared – all the way up until the training intensives started, just over a week ago!