How Being Close to Frozen Can Help You See Life Differently

It’s currently -15.  The wind chill makes it feel like -37.  Tonight, it is predicted to go down to -26 with a wind chill hovering around -50.  Living here has deepened my appreciation of the resilience of our spirit.

How do you deal with something that you never envisioned?

I live in a very cold community nestled in the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York State.  Friends who knew of my love of warm weather and my now moving here have asked “how do you deal with the cold?”

They ask this knowing I’m not a skier, I do not snowmobile, or ice skate, sports that for many make winter an exciting destination.

My answer is simple, I’ve learned to deal with the severe cold the same way how I’ve learned to handle many other challenges in life, by embracing it and not running from it. 

Acceptance formulae

I begin by saying “this is what I’m facing,” and ask myself, “what am I going to do?”  Nothing too unusual here.  But at times I’ve learned it could be very interesting to go further and consider, somewhat optimistically, “how can I use this experience to grow?” 

Yes, seeing a challenge as another “… growth experience”.

 “How can I use this negative, that makes me want to seek shelter, to stay inside and be safe to move outside of my comfort zone?”  

Moving here has been a challenge but has also further opened my eyes to how creativity can be spurred by near despair.  Yes, mine. Living here is helping me to push myself to consider, “How can I use this experience, creatively.”

Becoming curious

What I found is that in 1896 this tiny Village of Saranac Lake decided to begin helping others to see the beauty that abounds here.  They decided to use the bitter cold to develop a  winter carnival that included an Ice Palace.

 No, this wasn’t some small whimsical castle such as you would see on a beach.  This is a two-story ice palace, one you are encouraged to walk through so you may sit on the majestic ice throne, that is after you pet a large ice animal or two. 

Using what is available

The ice for our palace is cut from the lake next to where our palace is built.  It is crafted not by a professional crew that sweeps in but by my neighbors, an intergenerational activity, a proud family tradition.  This is a local activity, one that has been performed almost annually since its inception.

-celebrating the sights and sounds that surround you

The lighting of the Ice Palace opens our Winter Carnival. Two weeks of fun and unusual winter activities— a community talent show, just like you’d see in the movies, but this one is local with a wide array of incredibly talented individuals, singing, acting, dancing, playing music—piano, harps, all of whom live in and around this mountain village.

-playing outside of the box

Our winter carnival has created the opportunity for a winter playground leading to the development of somewhat unusual winter events ranging from snow rugby, snowflake volleyball, a frying pan throwing contest, and even a contest for the longest natural icicle. 

Unfortunately, the cold created one casualty this year.  Due to how difficult it was to breathe out-of-doors the kids from our youth center who created one obstacle, for the obstacle course, couldn’t enjoy torturing their friends and willing adults with trying it.   

Surprisingly this was the only change the intense cold appeared to have created.

-learning to love being creative … even ridiculous

A village parade caps the last day with floats and dance routines through the town.  My favorite is the “Lawn Chair Ladies”.  Each year with a distinctive costume they dance with their lawn chairs, having fun being ridiculous, making everyone smile as we all seem to think “If they can get out there and have fun without worrying about what others think, I can as well”. 

So next time you’re faced with a challenge, think Ice Palace, think outside the box.  Imagine yourself dancing with your lawn chair.  Consider what you can do to make yourself laugh at the situation you find yourself in, and enjoy the adventure.