There are places both more frigid and more dark to spend the winter months than Bowen Island, but on the darkest and slushiest days of late, I’ve been struggling to appreciate that.
Thankfully, January 1st rolled around just in time to save me from despair. It wasn’t the whole New Year’s thing, though. It was, rather, the Polar Bear Dip.
I’ll admit I did not go in, but on that note I’ll tell you I regret it. I realized, while watching all those Bowen Islanders jump into the ocean and wander around the beach in towels for a prolonged period afterwards, that this must be one of the best ever ways to celebrate the arrival of a new year.
Shivering in the winter air and knowing that the water you’re about to jump into is not just going to be cold, it’s actually going to hurt... well that takes some bravery. Going ahead and jumping in anyway, and laughing with your friends and neighbours, nearly naked afterwards, well that’s something else all together.
To me the act is symbolic. Facing the New Year (like the water), the Polar Bear Dipper is saying, YES, I CAN DO THIS. He or she is taking the plunge collectively, there’s a peer pressure element. But instead of walking out and complaining to one another about the cold, everyone gathers around a huge fire to drink hot soup and bask in the sunshine like it was July.
If Bowen Islanders can come together with such spirit to jump into the ocean in January, then there’s not much we can’t do. Midlife upgrade? No sweat. Build a bike park? Easy peasy. Create a medical clinic... what’s the hold up?
The sun came out for the event with as much force as all those islanders at Bowen Bay Beach last weekend. It’s a sign, I’m sure of it. Bowen Island... welcome to 2015. Let’s make this a year worth remembering.
