Toward the end of last summer, I took cold showers for a couple of weeks. One morning, in the midst of a shower, I thought—it’s not getting any easier.
And then I remembered—it’s not about avoiding difficulties, it’s about being with them without letting them affect us.
It’s about acting, despite fear, and acting fearlessly.
It’s about trusting oneself, in the face of self-doubt, and trusting oneself unreservedly.
It’s about respecting and loving oneself, when lost, broken, and unlovable, and loving oneself with a full heart.
It’s about being with what we find difficult to be with, yet remaining true to ourselves and our convictions.
The ice baths, the heartbreaks, the failures will always hurt. We live and grow when we can be with what is, rather than when we wish for what isn’t.