Comfort in the Uncomfortable
I am aware of two things since becoming an adult- what makes me comfortable, & how to enjoy the uncomfortable.
What makes me comfortable is routine, cleanliness and warmth. I strive for these things daily.
Every morning looks the same. Fight the desire to stay asleep, crawl from bed to bathroom and pee. Put on work clothes, brush teeth, hair, put on makeup. Before I walk out the door, I verbalise my checklist, often more than twice.
'Hair brushed, teeth brushed, deodorant on. Shoes, socks, uniform, jumper. Glasses, phone, wallet, keys. Makeup, lipstick, necklace, perfume, badge, headphones.'
My family can nearly recite it too. I have had the same list since mid-high school, altering it slightly depending on what job I'm now working.
Some of the items seem silly. I admit the socks is probably unnecessary. However, the quick reminder of deodorant has saved me more than once when my routine has been disrupted and a step has been missed.
My routine is comfortable because it means I need not worry that I've forgotten any of those things once I'm gone; I think of them no more.
Personal grooming and cleanliness are related to my routine. I have my regular hair washing schedule, shaving, waxing and tinting. All the things a female needs to be presentable to the public. Cleanliness is a core value of mine, as my comfort relies heavily on it.
I cannot stand my own sticky skin, greasy hair, prickly legs. I have learned that I'm happier to sacrifice an extra hour for a late hair wash one night than to go without the next day and feel like a grot; a rat who appeared from the sewer.
Finally, warmth. Another core tenant in my need for comfort. The most environmentally painful part of a day for me is a cold winter morning. Awake before the sun and ripped from warm sheets into an icy morning makes me feel sick.
I love the warm embrace of a Queensland summer, and the early sunrise. I love joyful, hot summers.
I do believe that comfort is a criminally undervalued aspect of life. Obviously, as you know I'm about to say, it is not of first importance, it does not come before our main priorities, it cannot always be expected to be achieved. However, in moments and seasons when comfort can be regularly experienced, it increases one's joy and quality of life. Happy people are productive people, happy people are healthy people. We can survive without it but let's aim for more than mere survival- let's thrive.
Comforts are a gift from the LORD, which brings me to my next point.
I am more aware of how to be uncomfortable.
As an older teen and young twenty-year-old, I remember going through a season of learning what I liked, what made me comfortable. In that process, I was able to identify what I hated.
So, in part two of my self-discovery, I learned to better manage myself in unideal situations. Granted, I still have much to go.
My aversion to bleak July mornings is now combated by playing a mental game. Play pretends. In our world of tik tok and an endless stream of "Day in my Life" videos, it's easy to imagine myself as a different person who enjoys the things I avoid. Instead of a shivering Queenslander, I am a numb Slav who is used to brutalism and bitter chill. I eagerly wait for my black coffee.
Offensive? I've just realised it probably is, but I certainly don't mean for it to be. By all means, if you need to pretend to be a 23 year old Queenslander who loves the heat, go for it.
To dig my hole further, and build on my point, how I have learned to embrace the uncomfortable is by romanticising what I am doing. Taking all the unpleasantness away by entering a state of reverie and pretending that what I am doing is part of a beautiful story.
I lovingly fold my laundry like an 1800's prairie homemaker. I pour my coke into a glass like I'm a refined aristocrat. Rather than be stressed because my house was left as a mess, I'll embrace the cosiness of a lived in space and enjoy the housework later.
I write a silly piece for tumblr like I actually have something important to say.
It's not about doing things perfectly. It's about making the most of what we have and doing the best with what we've got. Finding our daily comforts and embracing the discomforts.
