As you first begin, it’s mostly falling down, standing up, and discovering new ways the cold reaches you.
At first, balance feels theoretical. Then the ice corrects you. Quickly. You fall, get up, fall again. The lesson repeats until it stops needing words. Progress isn’t linear. It’s iterative. Cold enforces honesty.
What’s strange is how warmth arrives. Not by avoiding the ice, but by staying on it long enough. Movement generates heat. Repetition builds tolerance. What started as discomfort becomes rhythm.
Falling isn’t the interruption.
It’s the method.
Getting up is rarely graceful. It doesn’t need to be. The body learns faster than the mind, and confidence shows up after the work has already been done.
You don’t get warm by waiting.
You get warm by continuing.
Who needs to hear this?
Anyone mistaking repeated setbacks for lack of progress.
For today:
Get back up once more than feels reasonable and notice what changes.
🎵 Motion Picture Soundtrack – Radiohead
📖 The Inner Game of Tennis – W. Timothy Gallwey
JANUARY 1, 2026