Walking the Simple Pathway Anjali Pati

I had thought of living in simplicity and happiness before, but I never understood its significance until I heard this sentence. “I will not allow you to come to my house. I am poor.” I stared and looked at him as my eyes filled with tears, because I didn’t understand what there was to be ashamed of. I began to ask myself: what are the most important things in life? And what makes a person successful? Is it money? Is it the things that we have? Is it the type of stone with which our houses are made? Is it weather we have a roof? Or a floor made of dirt?

It was August, 5th 2007 when I arrived in Monteverde, Costa Rica to start a new life, gain a new life experience, and attend a Quaker friends school. When I walked in the door of my new home and met my home stay family, it was raining. I had arrived in rainy season, a time when it was almost always raining or at least always a bit foggy. I felt sad watching the rain fall with such power from the sky. The rain seemed like an unstoppable force, and easily made me forget about the sun. Clouds seeped into my room and surrounded my body. Time seemed to stop, and I was enclosed by grey. I was left by myself in a foreign country without my parents, without my home, my friends, and...