super powers, mental strength, and ice cold showers

Raising my kids, I always tried to teach them that happiness, or their emotions and attitude, were in their own control and NOT ruled by others. This was crazy-difficult to teach. As young kids, they didn't believe it, because it *was* totally that other person's fault for pissing them off, or making them sad! <what's the emoticon for a tender, motherly smile? put that here.>

So, this simple easy-reading piece on super powers, mental prowess (even in concentration camps!) and tolerating ice cold showers resonated with me.

The Zen of Ice Cold Showers


(struggled to find original pic source, which might be here)

As permaculturalists, and homesteaders, the challenges are steep. Seeing that the problem is the solution is a type of super power, if you ask me.

What's your super power? Or, perhaps better yet, when did you see the problem as the solution?

My super power, especially with kids, is never giving in to complaint. Whining and complaining result in more of what they were on about. If they took their grievance to another adult, that made it worse for them. Both kids are now teachers. They listen to the kids, but no amount of complaint reduces the work load. Kids can only undermine authority, if they have help from that person.

At a Christmas get together, they both had fun recalling how I taught them about drugs by showing them some end stage junkies. Then they listed many things that I say are for "sissies" and poked fun at the extensive list. We get along great. There doesn't seem to be any resentment about my enforcement of family rules, insistence on good eating habits and making them earn rewards. Both are very self sufficient and confident. They don't involve themselves in negative relationships and they don't suffer fools well. Super powers can be passed on to the next generation.

Jocelyn : The picture you posted with this thread immediately reminded me of Basic training in february , Fort Dix, New Jersey barely heated barracks

( they were trying to stop a flu epidemic) and ice cold showers ! Does being the best at the alligator crawl with 3'' of ice over top of the canvas surface we

were supposed to crawl on count as a super power ! Own basic unit set a record for the most amount of ruined wool shirts and pants (elbows and knees)

That time is like my children -each precious to me, won't give you 10 cents for one more ! Big AL

I'm a teacher and I have my fair share of kids interactions- along with two of my own children. My super power would be to not treat them like kids. Even in 6th grade I'm expecting college level stuff out of them, and they surpass it and more. Don't anyone try to tell me they are not every bit as capable due to mental development. Kids will rise to the expectations you set for them, whether that's complaining, taking cold showers, or being in control of your own happiness!

Thanks for the article.

Dale Hodgins wrote:My super power, especially with kids, is never giving in to complaint. Whining and complaining result in more of what they were on about. If they took their grievance to another adult, that made it worse for them.

Sounds like what I did, too! I recall one day where my daughter had 2 chores to do before she could go play, and she started in on the complaining/whining. She had a total of 10 to do before she was done! And I made her do them!

While I didn't really mean to make this about teaching or raising children, I guess that's how I led the conversation and is often my frame of reference in life.

Big Al was a bit closer in describing some brutal training scenarios, but I'm looking for the mental focus, the mental attitude that helps with something super stressful like that.

One simple example, albeit still a Becky-homecky example, is a relative of mine who knocked an entire jug of milk over into her silverware drawer. First world problem, yes, but still incredibly annoying and a set back, however minor or major. Instead of shouting the expletives I would have shouted, she calmly, nay, almost cheerfully said "oh, that drawer needed cleaning out any way." And went at it.

I like that M.R.J. says their super power is treating young people as who they can be, and how they rise to that. I have a dear aunt, who suffered the death of two dear family members plus other tragedies, and through it all, she discovered that somehow, she was blessed with still waking up happy each day. She just...wakes up happy. I'd call that a super power.

So, what's your super power in dealing with permie life?

Remembering what happened last time, "ask me how I know."

never leave tools on the rear bumper, ask me how I know.
when gifted a none running moterbike, fix the brakes first, ask me how I know.
walking around the house in the dark can brake your toes, ask me how I know.
coffee cups don't go between the mouse and the keyboard, ask me how I know.
don't leave a pan on a running stove, and go outside for just a second, ask me how I know.
check to see if the keys are indeed in your hand/pocket before locking the car, ask me how I know.
if a woodstove is falling off the truck, just step back, ask me how I know.
a falling energized powertool has no friends, ask me how I know.

Remembering that many of the things I have done, are contra-indicated.

Never lift anything heavy, with an unpredictable idiot on the other end - Ask me how I know. There's no end to those kinds of stories. ☺

I have known since I was 5, that cigarettes, alcohol and drugs were never going to be part of my life. Peer pressure has always had the opposite effect that it is supposed to. It hardens my resolve. That can be a super power or a social impediment, depending on the situation.

My superpower is to get up in the morning and keep trying.

The "ask me how I know" stories are the upside - the humor, usually! - of getting older. Love 'em!

I hadn't really thought of my own super power. Though I guess mine is, when working with people in my business, to be a calming, helpful, even comforting support for them. It's very common for folks to stress out over taxes and cash flow, and I have a way of making these things more rational, more calm, and easier. It's gratifying to be able to do that.

LOVED that article Jocelyn. Thanks for sharing.

I don't think I've lived long enough to know my super power yet.

Cassie Langstraat wrote:LOVED that article Jocelyn. Thanks for sharing.

I don't think I've lived long enough to know my super power yet.

Being the smiley one?

My super power is being able to not worry about something until I know I really need to worry about it. I've somehow taught (convinced?) myself to not go there, to just hold unto the not knowing until I know for sure. There will be plenty of time to worry if it turns out it's truly something worrisome! (A good example is cancer scares among family and friends ... I'm the one who keeps a level head unto the results are in. And then, because I haven't totally stressed myself out with premature worry, if the result is positive I'm able to calmly be of help as a patient advocate.)

Inspiring article. My superpower is the ability to feel understanding towards anyone, no matter what kinds of things they have done or are doing. Useful at times, impractical at others, but that's that.

Also, with things like this, it is good to strive for this yourself, but be really careful to not let yourself judge people who seem to be making a heaven a hell, because you don't know what road they've traveled, even if you think you know them.

And sometimes things happen that do in fact take away that last freedom (my relevant experince here - first, second, and third hand - is with trauma). Not for everybody, but some people actually lose this capability to a crippling degree for a time, or even for the rest of their life.

So! Reach for the sky here - it is an amazing privilege, and a superpower indeed, and a wonderful example to the people in your life. And always meet people where they are on their road with love and kindness.

Finding sacrificial rags and towels at a momments notice.
Standing in a fish pond with wool socks to my knees and wading with my feet in 5 gallon pails and I do fish rodeo and empty the fair season pond to the deep hibernation pond while snowflakes fly early (curse you weatherman)
How to be a lady, use the great outdoors at -35f with wind blowing because smarties decided to run their taps to keep them from freezing and drained the water tower so along with power out there's no water for two days (and visiting city slicker friend is going insane about pail toilets, anointing bales outside and things like that).
Finding lost stuff my hubby dropped on his shop floor and the description no where near matches what I found
Medical care, I can give shots and sew up people and animals. Those are hard ones. Then get them to town.
I am the empress of building greenhouse/coldframes with found stuff and a roll of at least 4 mil plastic, and I can build a windbreak with metal garden fence, rebar, and tarps in 40 mph winds.
Falling in garden, bouncing off stuff, taking two hours to crawl into house and after ER visit and one night in the hospital Hilton, next morning getting up to deal with my burgeoning jungle of garden's watering needs until doc said you can go back to work. (and spent a week and lost 15 pounds catching up on weeding.)
Washing 3' of hair in glacial melt water with a bar of soap.
Being brave enough with claustrophobia to crawl in the crawlspace and replace the flexible vent AND cage it in garden fencing so our yard cats couldn't sleep on it and collapse it, black widows and brown recluse and all (4 hours). Some places I barely fit.
I mastered flint and steel fire starting.
I learned to swat my own spiders or catch them LIVE in a baby food jar to be identified. (county conservation agent about lost her mind when I put 3 baby food jars, one with full grown southern black widow female, one full grown brown widow (who was making an egg sac) and a 3/4 grown brown recluse, caught in the last five days and all still alive. "Hi, I know you're from (another state) and just moved here, let me introduce you to some of our local fauna.")

I learned how to drive a nail straight and can frame a wall to code.

It's perhaps not a superpower but i love to take a problem and use it to solve another.

example : One nature reserve was having to much soil, being heightened by a previous owner to make it into arable land. We took away that lightly polluted soil and used it to cover a highly polluted landfill. Thereby restoring the original landscape relief (wet meadowland and salt creeks in a flemish polder) and making the landfill suitable for nature development. Both sites are now part of well known nature reserves. I organised it so that the landfill owner could sell the site to a nature charity with the
blessing of local tawn and regional authorities.
Everybody thought is was nuts for even trying

I Love doing that kind of thing

One more superpower, we had plumbing die and I convinced spouse that I have the upper arm strength necessary to hand dig in a crawl space to replace plumbing pipe, in mud (secret: wool. Wear wool) The bale barn is a pole shed storage unit I am not moving into it.

The cold shower excercise brings to mind the book Dune, when the main character faces the gom jabbar device. In my opinion it's one of the coolest concepts of all the sic fi I have read.
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when my fear is gone I will turn and face fear's path, and only I will remain."
Thanks for the article.

Thanks for the article, Jocelyn. Another angle on the perennial wisdom of 'being here now' :) Often, it seems to take superhuman power (for me, anyway) to do this basic thing. But, then, all needful things seem to flow from this place.

My super power is to listen to the land and animals. Humans are stupid. Ask anyone. The earth speaks steady and strongly. Listen. The animals know, listen to them. A beautiful place we live in. I take an ice cold shower every day!

This is a great question. I have two super powers - one is tenacity. I never give up. Where there is a will there is a way and that leads to my second super power an absolute on fire passion to learn all I can about what I want to know and do. This includes following many threads of investigation until I am satisfied I have gotten what I wanted from it.

I spend a huge number of hours Googling and searching for information. I have signed up to so many newsletters from sites that I have an interest in that I sometimes have hundreds of emails come in a day just from those. And every direction interests me. My passionate investigations cover everything from permaculture and self sustainablity, health and healing, vortex math and quantum physics, alternative energy, ormus, and so much more.

One of my favorite quotes is "Chance favors a prepared mind" Don't know who said it but I have found that the more I find out about any subject the more able I am to grab the opportunities use that knowledge to springboard onto new fascinations and abilities. It all jazzes me.

This article reminded me of all the early Antarctic expeditions where teams of explorers set out to chart the most inhospitable place on Earth and reach the South Pole. Instead of a few minutes of being cold in the shower the Antarctic explorers spent months and sometimes years in the coldest places on the planet. I think that a lot of people wouldn't ever consider doing what some of those explorers did but with the right attitude and passion I think that people tend to be surprised at what they can do.

Here's an account of one of the expeditions that I've always thought was very inspiring: Mawson's Antarctic Trek (Warning) This is a pretty brutal story of survival so just be aware. It certainly shows an extreme example of super powers so I thought it'd be appropriate.

The ability to spot malarkey and proclaim it loudly. Whether it's a sales pitch for shoddy goods, get rich quick schemes, medical miracles, or something to do with saving my soul, I'm not buying. Never have.

This saves time and aggravation.

Sometimes inspiration comes from the most unexpected places. This is one that has stuck with me.

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place. And I don’t care how tough you are. It will beat you to your knees and keep you permanently there if you let it”
“You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life, but it ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done”
“Now if you know what you are worth, go out and get what you are worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits and not pointing fingers, saying you ain’t where you want to be because of him or her or anybody. Cowards do that, and that ain’t you. You’re better than that”

–Rocky Balboa

It’s a very mean and nasty place.

Whew, glad I don't live there!

Oh, and anyone who wants to build character by taking cold showers - just don't heat your house (or heat it with wood) and you will build plenty of character. I find getting up in the morning in a house that's about 50 F builds about as much character as I need.

I always thought that super power meant power greater in scope or magnitude than that which is considered natural or has previously existed. Isn't there someone out there with super powers who is "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound?" Maybe even walks on water, heals the sick, drives away demons, raises the dead, or forgives people their sins!? "I Am." And that's not me!

Thomas, I am sure there are superheros reading this thread.
But.
It clearly states in the Justice league handbook that talking about superpowers and/or displaying said powers will not be done when out of costume.

That kind of action would compromise the mild mannered alter ego personna.

Just know there are persons on this forum that strive for truth, justice, and the permian way.

Shhh.....

Jocelyn Campbell wrote: I'm looking for the mental focus, the mental attitude that helps with something super stressful like that.

So, what's your super power in dealing with permie life?

My capacity to live in a chaos or unfinished works!

Advantages:
- It gives me time to prepare several things, and relate them afterward.
  ...I don't know when my different water collecting paths will connect to a little pond....
- When a project is blocked, I have no problem in focusing on something else.
   Very useful in a place like mine where people often have their tools failing and leave a mess!
  ....currently trying to find some use to hard as rock bags of cement!
Idea?
- Sometimes I even find something better to do...
   ....Currently trying to find how to use solar where I had planned a RMH! All my wood gets burried!
- Gives a good health, agility of mind and body, capacities to be in the here and now,
     ...have been jumping over the trench for the RMH pipes since... a few years now!
- 20 years ago I got stollen money, but the mess prevented him to find more!
- Even rabbits have problems to find my veggies...
- I am still zen while waiting for my chick and hens pen!
- I am still thankful, 1 year after, for the carpenter who finally made my doors and windows!
- I am motivated to live much longer...

I absolutely have to pass on the cold.. Me hates the cold..
As a young man I had the brilliant idea of hitch hiking coast to coast in the dead of winter more than a few times. The last attempt had me stranded on a stretch of I-75 somewhere near Cincinnati when the temperature dropped to below zero. The ice and snow had been plowed off the highway till there became a 10-15 foot barrier of solid cold and it was of course night time so nobody could see me standing 10-15 feet above the roadway.
I finally succumbed  to the cold and sat down on my duffel bag and fell asleep as I could no longer feel the pain of freezing.  
For some reason I still don't know to this day someone saw me up there, stopped and carried me to his truck while I was still unconscious and saved my life. I woke up a few miles later and he dropped me off at an all night diner where I stayed till the morning and made it the rest of the way home in Dayton Ohio. I've hated and even feared the cold ever since then.
Oddly enough I had traveled to California and back on the trip and nearly died just about 40 miles from home..
Needless to say I won't be taking any ice cold showers now or any time in the future. I also won't be hitch hiking in the winter or any other time of the year unless there is absolutely no other alternative.