Jump in the Puddles
Because the world is cold and wet today.
Dear Healthy Jew,
Lots of people get sick in the winter.
The world is also colder, and in many places (such as Israel) wetter.
But scientists aren’t sure that the cold and dampness directly cause sickness.
The opposite might be true: people are in closed spaces in close proximity to each other, sharing viruses far more efficiently than when everyone is hanging out in neighborhood park. Johns Hopkins Medicine is confident that the common cold is not caused by cold weather or getting wet.
Detaching From Life
If we stay inside all day, it will be terribly uncomfortable to go outside. When we’re forced to, we’ll bundle up in sweaters and coats, and moan and groan about the unbearable cold.
By acclimating our bodies and minds to the artificially warm climates of our stacked cement-and-steel boxes, we come to see the world as a threat.
This is a deep tragedy, for three reasons.
By avoiding the cold and wet, the world might actually become a threat: our coddled immune systems won’t have any practice when we do come in contact - oh no! - with the winter world.
If we’re tethered to warming machines, we won’t be walking around the neighborhood for local errands, certainly not hauling home groceries in a knapsack. Serious exercise will require weights or an elliptical bike, at least driving to the gym or pool.
But many people (like me!) don’t have the money, interest, and competence for such specialized workouts. Our health and happiness hinge on walking, running, and hiking. And informal exercise is critical for everyone, even devoted gym rats.1 Humans are built to walk through the world in purposeful effort: to gather edible sprouts in nature, walk to work, and carry home groceries.
Abandoning the world is also emotionally and spiritually risky. As I’ve explained many times, life’s archetypical journeys extend from the simple, physical moving of our bodies from here to there. This world is a “corridor to the chamber” (Avos 4:16) - but for the metaphor to have any meaning, it must be based on tangible reality. We must be walkers.
Returning to Life
Yet it’s possible to reclaim life in the winter world, and you don’t need to camp out in the snow. Whenever we’re confronted with opposing extremes, the Healthy Jewish solution is to strike a balance between them.
If it’s safe for you, try a short brisk walk in the cold. Even better, go for a run - you’ll be warmed up after a few minutes. It’s raining? Jump in the puddles. Snowing? Build a snowman and give him a hug.
When feasible and reasonable, lower the thermostat a few degrees, signaling to your body and mind that the world is cold today. If you stick with it, you’ll slowly nudge your comfort zone’s thermostat downwards.
When the temperature rises a bit, turn off the heat, open the windows, and breath the same air as the trees, grass, deer, turtles, and all the other folks that are walking today through God’s world.
By purposely meeting to the world as it is today, you’ll slowly acclimate to a broad variety of temperatures. Over time, walking effortfully through life might become comfortable and safe even on the coldest days. I’m not making this up; cold acclimatization has legit research.
Personally, winter walks and runs have helped changed my life.
I used to be that guy who was sick half the winter with “flu-like symptoms.” Since I began regularly walking (briskly!) and running, many years ago, I’ve been sick for maybe a handful or two of days - most of them this. Whenever I feel that I’m “coming down with something,” I lace my shoes and get out into the world, allowing the cold wind and rain to wash it all out.2
Of course, if you have any safety concerns, talk to your doctor before dialing up the heat or heading out for a run in the rain. Perhaps your life’s journey today should happen indoors. If you’re able to embrace the cold, dress for the occasion, and dry up when you get home.
Don’t Tell Anybody
Now I have a little secret for you, a secret that’s very instructive.
I adapted most of this article from a post I wrote in the summer about not sitting all day indoors under the freezing AC. Many paragraphs are exactly the same: I just changed hot to cold and cold to hot. (You can read more there about the dangers of staying indoors.)
Whether it’s during heat or cold, we’re dealing with the same human tendency to escape God’s world and create our own comfortable cocoons.
And we’ll always grow by showing up - carefully, sensibly, and tenderly - to whatever weather the world offers today. Living well includes facing challenges head on, and watching how our comfort zones expand. The world isn’t our enemy - so let’s not fight it.
This message can also help us work with emotional challenges, like the Jewish people’s current crisis. Everyone has their “emotional air conditioning,” and at times we need to turn it on. But we grow by facing the fear and stress, living together with it whenever possible - and not entirely escaping to comfortable cocoons that avoid our uncomfortable reality.
As I explained on Sunday, the path to every seed’s rebirth is through descending into the earth, dying and rotting. Only then can its tiny harbingers of hope - the cotyledons - slowly unfold, race upwards to the surface, unfurl their little green banners of life, and take a deep breath of sunlight.
(Notice that I added the word “Natural” to the title. I was wrong for using the original, insensitive header.)
Before you go, here’s a random but lovely picture from our kitchen today. I’m sorry but I can’t think of how it’s related.
Thank you for reading Healthy Jew.
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I look forward to hearing from you!
Be well,
Rabbi Shmuel Chaim Naiman
One recent clinical study showed that people who exercise half an hour a day but sit and lie for the remaining 23 1/5 hours – what the researchers called “active couch potatoes” – are far less healthy than those who incorporate several hours of light exercise into their daily lives.
Unless it might be COVID. That’s different.
Practical and clear, thanks!
So so true! Although I have to confess I find it easier to go out for a brisk walk when it's cold. The heat drains me of all energy...