Immersion for the soul

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!”

And I’m in. The cold overtakes me. A gasping breath is pushed out of my lungs, arms stinging, legs flailing. The rock I am sitting on is digging into my lower back, which I cannot feel anymore. Who knew water could stab you so efficiently? A million pinpricks skim along my skin, my nerves screaming and shouting. Where have my toes gone? I feel how white they are, drained of essential blood rushing back to preserve my vital organs.

And then silence. Thirty seconds in, and all is silence. My skin has become a carapace, a shield, my protector. The slip slap of the water echoes as it softly collides with an icy rock. The snow is blinding yet calm in front of me as the morning sun emerges to strike it full of crystals. Silence.

It’s back. Pain is suffocating me. My back is compressed from the inside out. And now the white layer of snow is glaring at me, adding offence to my eyes as my body reminds me it is slowly freezing. An ice cube, I am going to be an ice cube. How long until hypothermia kicks in? What am I doing here?

Deep breaths. In, and out. The cold is my friend. Suddenly he is here - his voice clear and crisp to my addled mind:

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” A sudden giddiness feeds my smile as the two eternal minutes come to an end.

Success!

Pride!

Pure elation.