Joel Runyon, responsible for The Impossible Challenge, posted last week about Comfortology.
http://impossiblehq.com/comfortology
His word. I like it.
I was in pursuit of comfort most of my life. Peace, safety, smooth sailing.
Of late, I’ve been taking a different turn of mind. This doesn’t mean I enjoy when things go wrong, like when the A/C went out. However, it didn’t stress me out like it used to in the past. However, please, God don’t test me with my computer. I’ve already had it blow up on me once. I cried. Every day. For a week. Until a new one was purchased. The computer made it possible for me to go back to school. It caught my misspellings and never told me to go find it in a dictionary. It gave me options. How cool is that? My computer is also my connection to the outside world. It wasn’t until I discovered the wonders of the internet I learned there were lots of people like me, and I was an okay kind of person.
Sidetracked. Back to the topic.
I believe I’ve mentioned before it was my job to smooth things over, to make everything pleasant, to do whatever was necessary to ensure peace and calm. What happened to me didn’t matter.
So, all my life I’ve been looking for safety and comfort and peace of my own.
Maybe, all this time I’ve been looking for the wrong thing…
The Project: Me by Judy 
Hmm lots to think about here. I endured my own pain silently for years to keep others comfortable. Now that I am seeking my own comfort, I am able to do the really tough, really uncomfortable things, like living authentically and speaking up about it. I’ll never bungee jump. Never. I don’t see that as a goal, unless it was a metaphor, because then I have jumped off that bridge a hundred times over already, fearing status quo over any discomfort. On the flip side, I now listen to myself and make time for recovery, for added comfort, for healing. And P.S., please don’t break your computer, because you are definitely an okay kind of person that means a whole lot to so many in this world.
By: rootstoblossom on October 15, 2013
at 5:48 am
I would never bungee jump either. Daredevil stuff never interested me. When life or death was an everyday concern, who needs to seek the adrenaline rush, living with it every day? I’ve been reading quite a few things of late written to inspire others, and I’m not their target audience. I “get” what they’re saying… Maybe it’s a case of they know the comfort and “normal” and are learning to be uncomfortable, while I know the uncomfortable and am learning to be comfortable… different life lessons. I think the subtle difference I’m trying to learn is that uncomfortable doesn’t always mean nightmarish… so I’m learning to be comfortable in my uncomfortableness, the uncomfortableness of trying new things… whole different critter from the uncomfortableness of being abused… never thought of it that way before. And thanks (((rootstoblossom)))
By: Judy on October 15, 2013
at 6:00 am
I definitely want a meaningful life vs a “happy” one. I wouldn’t be happy not trying new things that put me out of my comfort son from time to time.
By: Pandora Viltis on October 16, 2013
at 7:02 pm
Yes!
By: Judy on October 17, 2013
at 7:44 am
Hi Judy,
I enjoyed reading the post on comfortology. I like how he uses the word uncomfortable instead of easy. Because doing something easy can be really uncomfortable for me. On the flip side, doing something hard can also be uncomfortable for me.
Hugs,
TR
By: TR on October 20, 2013
at 9:14 am
True! Easy doesn’t mean comfortable. Good point. Some hard things are comfortable, but because it is hard I’m still required to stretch. I think the idea is to keep stretching, so to speak… I need to think about that one more.
By: Judy on October 20, 2013
at 10:52 am