There is something about time in a sauna that is different. I would not suggest that time slows down. Instead, I find that I experience it differently. A combination of intense heat (90 degrees Celsius or 195 Fahrenheit), water laced with sweet birch oil, and silence takes me to a place where Life whispers. When I use the hourglass timer on the wall, I have a loose idea of how long I have been in. Even then, my estimate is, at best, a guess.
Yesterday’s whispers that linger include the following.
No matter how much one prepares, or thinks s/he is going to win, eventually, the heat will overwhelm. Coming in hydrated helps. I also see some who are disciplined in their approach. Everyone eventually concedes and leaves. As the smart ones head for cold water, I find myself realising we are acting out an old observation; “Even those who didn’t sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it.” (Romans 5.14)
When everything is dark, it is impossible to ignore the whispers and the truth they bring. The sauna I use is in a room with a light sensor triggered by movement. It does not extend into the sauna. At around five minutes, all the lights go off and one is in a sauna where the only light is the heating coils between the rocks on the stove. I know I will enter a dark mini night-of-the-soul where Life talks, I listen, and a wrestling match with truth follows.
In the heat and the darkness is a reality of being overwhelmed. I find it impossible to go beyond a certain point. I know the story will not end with defeat. There is a cold shower which brings relief, restoration, and recovery. When the cycle completes, yesterday’s angst is gone, the immediate tensions vanished, and a new awareness of hope emerges.
