Cold Inspiration

As I entered the shower this morning, I was quickly reminded that our “calentador” (engrish for water heater) hadn’t been working for the last couple days. Mind you, only in Costa Rica and Guatemala will you ever have such a fine cold shower. The experience is nearly always the same every time: an even, running flow of water falls from 7 ft. and splashes the tiled shower below. The lack of steam brings about a sensation of unwanted anticipation. The knowing that the infelicitous experience is undoubtably inescapable. Additionally, unlike tip-towing into a cold swimming pool at one’s desired pace, one must submerge him/herself into the arctic pits of unpleasantness. One step forward, and that’s it! Might as well have your friends push you into the pool because here it’s all or nothing!

Today, upon entering the glacial splash, I yelp and quiver in embarrassment; even so, despite the iciclely, razor-sharp nips and what feels like marble sized testies, I’m shortly prompted of how nice a cold shower feels. Enduring the first 10-20 seconds feels like the opposite of hell, but afterwards, it feels light, refreshing and almost crystal clean. This week, I’ve had to unwillingly participate in this ritual at least once a day, but today is a different day.

As I showered today I began to ponder life and how we experience it. Allow me to elucidate. Often humans are forced to undergo ill-disposed consequences or situations. Some people call these hard knocks; I like to call them life’s bitch slap. Sure enough, this occurs more routinely than we’d like. Really, it’s these cold, overwhelming avalanche-like experiences that becomes life’s way of saying, “this is the only way, so get used to it!” Sometimes we see it coming, and sometimes we don’t; nonetheless, upon submersing yourself into the bitch-slap of life, we’re reminded that the aftermath isn’t so severe, or ofttimes, it’s pleasant.

Maybe we get used to it. As natural selection dictates, all creatures will adapt and survive; furthermore, as humans we’ve had to adapt to our injurious environments for thousands of years which has led us to our existence here. Maybe it’s the way our minds react to cognitive dissonance. If we’re forced to undertake an adverse task, we convince ourselves that life is in fact good rather than submitting to guilt, sorrow, or anxiety. Or maybe, we learn from our mistakes and accept the hard times as consequential lessons for our actions. Either way, or which ever way, life isn’t so bad. In fact, life’s great! I try to be reminded that someone else always has it worse than us, and there’s always much to be grateful for. It’s the tough times when we learn the most and are forced to grow. Ultimately, may we anticipate our cold showers with ease knowing that the calm comes not just before the storm, but the calm comes after too.