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Comfort with Discomfort
Sponsored by CrisDental Family Dentistry Eugene.
Last week we were floating the Missouri River with my son, the fishing guide, and he said “the key to fishing is understanding how lazy fish are and then capitalizing on that.”
It struck me that humans aren’t that much different. We become disenchanted with politicians and leaders when they don’t come through on their promises to make our lives better, easier and more comfortable.
Years ago, when I was a news anchor, I interviewed a philosophy professor who said something that stuck with me until this day. I asked the secret to life and he said “Rick, the secret to life is learning to be comfortable with discomfort.”
It’s no wonder we are enamored with comfort. Every add, every drug on the market, buying that new car, is all designed to tap into that desire for ease.
I heard an ad on the radio the other day that told me “I deserve comfort.” Deserve it….it’s like a human right now….isn’t everything. LOL
It is no wonder we are in the dark place we are in right now. It hasn’t been that long ago that many American’s used an outhouse and carried water from a well. My mom remembers going to town in a horse and buggy.
In the big picture we’ve come a long way in 100 plus years. But what is the cost.
But the cost of that evolution is grit. We as a nation seem to have lost our ability to roll up our sleeves, dig deep and work not just for our own good but the good of our society. Our search for comfort is creating a narcissism that is devouring our nation from the inside out.
I wonder that the whole COVID debacle is turning out to be a giant restart for many of us. It opened our eyes to tyranny that often accompanies darkness. They grabbed for power and we gave it to them out of fear and the desire to “get back to normal.” (comfort)
I find myself thanking God for something that still makes me cringe and very uncomfortable. He backed society into a corner, put a mirror up to our face, and showed us how easily fooled we can be and what we are willing to give up for a false sense of comfort. (freedom)
The picture attached to this article says everything to me. Like the hawk we must be vigilant and keep watch for the next cultural fumble. But like the farmer in the background, we must also get back to work rebuilding our way of life.
We must reignite our ability to be comfortable with discomfort.
It starts by having difficult conversations about what we did wrong and what we are willing to do not to repeat this moment in history.
Covid was a dark time. Even some doctors spreading misinformation saying you would be magnetized if you got the vaccine. we all know that didn’t happen. What did happen is that registered Republicans in Florida and Ohio had a higher death rate (excess mortality) than registered democrats. (Maybe RFK jr will say the virus was made to do that!!!) Chech out the Journal of the American Medical Association. It was a dark time for those who took the wrong advice.
Problem is too many people in the US have become accustomed to being comfortable as a way of life. Look at how commercialized "comfort is" and anytime people in general get uncomfortable, they demand that someone else do something about it. Some have even become accustomed to expect having govt or some other entity help them and THAT is exactly why society by in large has become so weak. Just look at the great toilet ticket shortage of 2020! People all over the world "felt" uncomfortable and they used bum wipe as an outlet due to their lack of dealing in their own discomfort and relevance in the world.
They grabbed for power and we gave it to them out of fear and the desire to 'get back to normal.' (comfort)"
Oh please... the Biden Administration wasn't interested in a power grab with their science-backed Covid restrictions! Biden and his staff were trying to keep as many of us as possible ALIVE! If left up to the science-spurning Republicans, there would most likely be millions of more dead Americans. Stop the misinformation already, Rick...
Your last paragraph is the door we must open and the word "conversations" is the key. No finger pointing, no anger, yelling or bullying, no personal agendas, no preconceived ideas, no political sides, no lying or manipulative media messages. Just open, truthful and earnest conversations as fellow humans, neighbors and dare I say Americans. - M
Hello Rick
First, God did not back us into a corner, we backed ourselves into the corner. Gods put paths before us, and we make the choice which path to take...that is free will. We must be prepared to accept responsibility for our choices, which we are not. We choose to blame others or God for our mistakes. God puts obstacles in our path to teach us and to learn from. Looking back, our parents, and grandparent knew how to cope with difficulty, and how to rely on each other to get through the hard times by working together. We pulled together as a country during WW2 and 9-11.
America is an apathetic society. Americans tend to feel as thoug…