Being comfortable is nice. Having a purpose is better. Being Useful in our purpose is best of all.
We human beings have a natural attraction to comfort. That is until we experience the fulfillment of a useful, purpose-filled life. Then our idea of comfort changes.
So, what is being comfortable and how can being attached to it get in our way?
Did you know that a Bodhisattva makes a vow to live in bliss under the sky? Being a former camper when my boys were young, I have a hint of living under the sky. It was for short periods of time and always with a hot shower and flush toilets near-by. Not too Bodhisattva’ish. And of course, that is not precisely what that means.
Being comfortable is much more than the physical. Although that aspect of our comfort needs is useful and an excellent place to measure just how attached we are to things not changing or not wanting to be uncomfortable. For example, I notice how people respond while attending courses or retreats which have a structure and timeline different than they have in their personal lives. With some participants, the discomfort of being out of their controlled routine gets in the way of their experience.
Changing jobs, moving, relationships ending or changing, standing in our truth, taking a deep breathe and moving toward something unknown, all push us out of our comfort.
Getting up earlier to meditate, changing a habitual behavior, choosing a higher and less comfortable response in a usual situation, doing something different than we are accustomed to ~ all of these move us out of our comfort zone.
Moving out of a comfort zone expands us. Brain patterns switch channels; the conscious mind realizes there are more choices, the unconscious records that knowledge fed back to us. Stepping out of our comfort zone lifts veils of limited perspective ~ we see more. We begin to experience we are more, we can do more, and we can Be more. We will never experience our greatness unless we are willing to be uncomfortable.
In time we grow to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and realize it is the only way to live. That is when we recognize the joy of living a useful, purpose-filled life.
May We All Walk in Beauty
