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More Firsts

We’ve arrived in Florida and adventures abound.

Today, an old friend took us out onto the waters of Turtle Beach and I tried a stand up paddleboard for the first time.

It was intimidating at first and frustratingly slow, but I loved the workout and the freer feeling of standing in the wind.

Wake from boats and jet skis was a challenge, but I never toppled. I look forward to my next opportunity to SUP.

My sons each had a kayak and we were shown a great little spot that lead us to the Gulf of Mexico. It was our first time in this body of water and the sand and water were beautiful.

We finished the day with a fantastic sunset in Sarasota and serious goofiness with my friend’s growing family.

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Going Further With Hof

Did it! 41F/5C air temp, water seemed to be about the same. It was a lot easier than I expected. Clear water, rocky bottom, and uncontrollable giggling once I got in!

Thirty deep inhales and passive exhales, on the last exhale I empty my lungs as much as possible and hold for as long as I can. On the controlled inhale, I hold again, but for not as long. Sometimes I bridge or happy baby during the inhale hold. I do five rounds of that every morning. I use nose-only breathing, The Iceman (Wim Hof) seems to use nose in/mouth out.

There are many benefits. It’s a time of meditation while fully waking the body in a relaxed manner (it works before bed too though, so I think it’s more about reaching an equilibrium). I also find a lot of body awareness, recognizing pain and discomfort and addressing it in a mental way that translates into increased recovery and healing.

It’s also the voluntary taking on of stress. The holds get uncomfortable, the body wants to panic (sometimes mine does), but you can control it with your mind. It trains the body to better recognize that stress is a physical reaction that can be controlled.

The cold is the same. The body says, “This is scary, I’m not okay.” You say back, “No it’s not, we’re okay.”

Hof has a lot of science behind his techniques and I’ll probably read his book. There’s stuff about ph balancing and shocking the body into balance. There’s also woo woo stuff about accessing ancient trauma in our DNA, addressing it, and healing it. All of which, I’m into.

And it just brings a sense of joy. I started laughing at myself in the water and couldn’t stop. A dude went by in a fishing boat, bundled up in camo, and must have thought I was crazy.

There are a lot more Whys. I knew about Hof, but I listened to an interview he gave with Russell Brand on April 1st. He discussed his journey after his wife committed suicide. He wanted to find the cure for depression. Simply put, he found it in the cold. He also claimed that covid couldn’t fuck with him, that his blood had been tested up against influenzas and wouldn’t get infected. I was in a bad place in April. I needed something as bold and simple as this and I started the next day.

I got out of the darkness and had a wonderful spring and summer. When soccer returned in June, I hadn’t done any cardio since mid-March, but I was good for a 90-minute game! Just from 15 minutes of breathing, a little yoga, and daily cold showers. I was hooked.

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Lake Juliette Calls

God takes good care of me.

As of this morning, I was seriously undecided about our next roadtrip destination. I searched for campgrounds between our starting point at my sister’s house near Knoxville, Tennessee, and an old friend’s place in Sarasota Springs, Florida. Almost exactly halfway was a town called Juliette and Dames Ferry, a state-run campground in Georgia.

Only a few minutes from the highway, it’s surprisingly secluded.

In my haste to secure a place to sleep, I hadn’t researched the campground map and picked the first available pad.

To my delight, our site is right next to Lake Juliette and the stars are beautiful over the water. As soon as we got here, we explored our quiet peninsula jutting into the lake. There is where I found the reason God brought me here.

At the end of the peninsula is a short, stone staircase down into the lake.

I’ve been practicing Wim Hof Method breathing and warm to cold showers daily since April. I joined a WHM singles group on Facebook recently and have been inspired and intimidated by the many people in cold climates who are daily plunging into icy water.

I’m writing this so I don’t chicken out of my first plunge. I have no idea how cold the water will be in the morning, but air temps will be in the 40s (F) tonight. Colder than a shower in Delaware and colder than I’ve ever submerged.

I can see my breath as I write and feel the shiver entering my body. My mind is working against my intention. I come back to my breath and find gratitude in being given this opportunity.

All is well with my soul.

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The Greatest Year

I’ve had the same new year’s resolution for as long as I can remember: Make this the greatest year of your life. I think of it more as a command than a “resolution.”

I’ve never waned in reaching that goal. In the darkest years, I not only survived, but thrived.

This year I settled a lot of traumas, had a loving romantic relationship, took on jiu-jitsu, found Wim Hof Method breathing and cold therapy, deepened my meditation and prayer practices, met and connected with new people, found bravery in accepting more freedom for my sons, let go of those things that did not serve me, bought an RV for expanded adventures, and had a whole lot of fun while learning every day.

It was the greatest year of my life and I will use all that I gained to ensure that next year is even better.

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Context, Danger, and the Fear Response

Perspective is critical when assessing danger. An immediate threat activates our primal survival brain. As time passes (and assuming the danger hasn’t killed us) we can quiet the fear response and start to frame the danger with context.

A study that included almost 10 million people in Wuhan, China, presents context on the threat of asymptomatic spread of Covid-19.

“Of the 300 asymptomatic positive cases, two cases came from one family and another two were from another family. There were no previously confirmed COVID-19 patients in these two families. A total of 1,174 close contacts of the asymptomatic positive cases were traced, and they all tested negative for the COVID-19. There were 34,424 previously recovered COVID-19 cases who participated in the screening. Of the 34,424 participants with a history of COVID-19, 107 tested positive again, giving a repositive rate of 0.310% (95% CI 0.423–0.574%).”

Post-lockdown SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid screening in nearly ten million residents of Wuhan, China


These numbers undercut the foundational argument for the Lockdowns. An argument that was initially propped up with a false anecdote.

A Chinese business woman in Germany supposedly transmitted the infection to her German colleagues before returning home.

The doctors reporting this neglected to speak to the woman and it turned out that she had been self medicating to hide symptoms in order to complete her work.

Study claiming new coronavirus can be transmitted by people without symptoms was flawed

It’s way past time to have a rational discussion about what we can do to improve the overall health of our society.

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Embrace Me

I shook someone’s hand today. I hugged a pastor yesterday. I embraced family on Christmas. Why should these things stand out? Why must they be remarked upon?

I wasn’t raised with a lot of physical affection. My dad was breaking a cycle of abuse and my mom came from a reserved Anglo family.

When I met my wife, we had the physical passion of new lovers, but she introduced me to a casual affection that stirred a longing in me. I remember the first hippy camping festival we attended together: her friends, total strangers to me, hugged me and said, “Welcome home.” It was not comfortable, I hadn’t experienced that kind of openness before. It took me years to open myself to friendly, physical gestures like that. It wasn’t until I held my first son that I began to understand how important physical connection is for me.

This year has been a cruel reminder of how much I crave physical, mental, and spiritual closeness with people.

I didn’t need a reminder. Widowhood has meant plenty of isolation.