‘Seek Discomfort’ is what the print on the t-shirt said.  ‘You found it!’ is what I thought to myself.  The young lady was clearly adept at navigating air travel.  After decades of work and vacation-related flying, there’s something about commercial air travel that unsettles me.  I find it less than comfortable.  It doesn’t matter if I’m flying to Chicago or Tirana.  The bustle and crowds of the airports, the intrusiveness of TSA, the lines, and the cramped quarters on the plane contribute to my growing disaffection for the process.  It’s often the only practical way to do things, but I wish it weren’t.  (Don’t misunderstand me, I love aviation, but loathe airports – I’ll write bit on that, another day).    

After a bit of contemplation (and while I grabbed my own roll-aboard from the overhead and made my way down the too-narrow aisle) I realized that the slogan might have a deeper meaning.  So often we seek comfort first.  We make sure we live lives that are soft and as easy as possible.  ‘Convenience Culture’ is the term that is popular now.  Think Amazon, Door Dash and other forms of instant home delivery.  Covid amplified the emotional forces that often want us to stay on the couch.  And capitalism, as it so often does, caters to demand.  

We can contrast that to my friend Travis.  Travis seeks discomfort.  He’s part of the movement (there are a few other adherents in my circle of friends and acquaintances) that embraces ‘Cold Plunge’.  Yep, think of immersing yourself in water, as cold as 39F as a way to easy sore muscles, enhance focus, lower your core body temperature (voluntary hypothermia!), and decrease inflammation.  I’ve also recently (re)embraced discomfort in the form of gym exercise and workouts.  I have had seasons (not enough of them) where I’ve embraced exercise culture.  Sore muscles and other various forms of discomfort do lead to greater strength and fitness, which is what brings me to the idea of embracing the notion of ‘Seek Discomfort’.  

When we are too comfortable, we are not more resilient.  When life is too convenient we are not more creative or courageous.  We are just more dependent.  And not on those we love or care about.  Interdependence, the notion that we mutually build into the lives of our friends and loved ones, is vital.  Being unnecessarily dependent on comfort and convenience might kill you or at least make you miserable.  Perhaps this is part of the attraction of camping.  Where you spend a small fortune to live like a homeless person.  It’s less comfortable than our normal lives.  But it gets us closer to the natural world (yes, even the glampers with the 40’ fifth-wheel).  I enjoy camping.   

On some level, I’m going to seek more challenge.  I will absolutely enjoy a certain amount of comfort and convenience (I enjoy the heated seat in my car, for example), but I’m also going to embrace some practices that challenge my affection for convenience. Maybe then I won’t be so grumpy about having to sit in a center seat, at the back of airplane, late in the evening, when all I want is to be home with my love.  Not sure about that cold plunge though…