I'm Mill.

When you've been through suffering, pain, or loss deep enough to change you, your reference point shifts. Things that used to feel painful feel mild. Hardships that seemed unbearable feel manageable — sometimes even warm — because compared to what you've been through, they don't carry the same weight.

For me: after surviving the truck, everything that came after — moving to Phangan alone, building four businesses, rejection, loneliness, starting from zero — is the “cold water” that feels “warm” compared to the day my body almost stopped. My reference point sits somewhere different from most people's. What others call “too hard to bear,” I read as “still better than dying.” That's why this line lives in me.