Written March 9

We are going on our third day at the farm, and just a bit ago I realized what day it is. After two solid days of travel and two full days at my new homestead, a time zone change and early bed times, it’s difficult to keep track. But never have I felt so in tune with my body’s needs. It is in sync with the sun. I rise when the sun rises, drink coffee, eat and dress all in time to be in the dirt with the full daylight. Our work day ends when the sun gets too hot to be outside directly under it, and it is around this same time that our stomachs signal for lunch. After we eat, we spend the rest of the day foraging the farm for tomorrow’s food, washing clothes and bathing in the open river. If we’re lucky, we may have a little time to take a hike to a good reading spot and log some solid time with our nose in a book before the sun starts setting and dinner needs to get started. It’s not often that we get this chance though. When the sun gets low in the sky, we reconvene for dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast preparation, an activity that can easily last a couple of hours. By dark we eat and after that it doesn’t take long for me to crawl into bed.

It’s a healthy existence that I’ve never quite experienced before. It’s a quiet and simple existence that I didn’t realize I wanted so much.

How could we forget our bodies are essentially animals designed for daylight living?

Every day people are afraid of getting sick from not washing our hands, are driven to believe success comes with obtaining a cubicle job, that hardworking is defined by how many extra hours we log on the timesheet. When all the while we are eating, breathing, living animals. Not machines. Who taught us to stop thinking instinctively and start thinking mechanically?

My feet are dirty. I sat in the dirt barefoot most of the morning weeding and sowing. I washed my body and hair in the river. I am a human animal. I’m made to be just that. And while I’m here, I’ll do nothing less.

My question forms around how I will continue this mentality and life after Nicaragua. What life choices and commitments will I have to make in the name of healthier living?