In darkness, we make our own sunshine.

In the midst of hate, I found there was,within me, an invincible love.

In the midst of tears, I found there was,within me, an invincible smile.

In the midst of chaos, I found there was,within me, an invincible calm…

In the midst of winter, I found there was,within me, an invincible summer.

And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me,

within me, there’s something stronger, something better, pushing right back.

Within Me by Albert Camus

I love this poem by Camus in 1954 reminding us that we can find inner strength, hope and resilience during life's darkest moments.

My favourite line is "In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer." This represents a personal, defiant joy that that I have experienced in my own life.

For most of my adult life I tried to escape the UK winter heading to Southeast Asia in early December, returning reluctantly in late January, into the grey.

Winter felt sad, dark and lonely. Learning to embrace this cyclical seasonal process has been one of the greatest reframes of my life. Today I'm laughing my tits off in the icy loch and sea. It awakens my senses, dampens arthritic flare-ups and I feel alive.

After fifty-five years of city living, I wanted to immerse myself in nature rather than escape to her a couple of times a week. My recent move to the Western Highlands of Scotland was motivated by my love of outdoor swimming.

My natural state begins to run dark near the end of October. It always has. But as Katherine May writes, the work is not about defeating the natural forces of sadness and darkness it is about learning to live with them. Today I am in awe of my surroundings, not looking to escape reality and experiencing that inner joy and aliveness.

Loch Eck, arguably the most beautiful Loch in Scotland.

Cold water immersion tips

• Subjects the body to extreme stress and you have to dig deep to find a calm spot within, the mechanism for this is harnessing the breath. As we know breathwork is a practice and the more resistance we offer the breath the more we can build resilience into out nervous system.

• Can reduce fat within the body. This requires immersion for a significant period of time to the point where we begin to shake. It takes less time in moving water such as swiming in the sea or lake.

• Increases adrenaline after a period of time. We get that wonderful hit and everything feels a little more heightened and alive.

• Tends to draw groups together. It's a leveller for people from all kinds of backgrounds coming together in a very naked and human way. This promotes connection, bonding and the release of oxytocin and makes us feel cosy and loved.

• Puts us back into nature. Nature has a way of drawing out our Nature. We let go of who we think we should be and come back to who we truly are beneath the mask. A moment in our relaxed state free from tension we carry in our body and mind is an experience that we can repeat. The more we do this, the harder it is to want to be any other way.

• Is free or definitely not expensive.