Comfort

Comfort is vastly over-rated. I am skeptical that it should even be desired. Strength, courage and truth all possess greater cultural worth than comfort, but more often than not these are the first things sacrificed in the effort for comfort to be attained. Comfort seems to extol both laziness and cowardice. For example, we find admitting to mistakes excruciatingly uncomfortable, but I firmly believe that integrity must be prioritized over comfort.

People want to be coddled, comforted and validated. We want to be mollified. We want to hear motivational speeches, read books and watch movies that make us feel better about ourselves while doing absolutely nothing to justify that state and are willing to pay handily to fulfill this desire. I find this reliance upon positive reinforcement utterly pathetic. We use blind affirmations to evade progress; our abilities, intelligences and potential remain, for the most part, untested. We are exceedingly adept at pointing out the flaws in others while conveniently rejecting criticism regarding ourselves. Depending upon constant external validation is almost assuredly setting oneself up for failure. Stepping on others to lift oneself up is a failure in itself.

Despite constant claims to the contrary, self-sufficiency is not something we particularly value in America. We want our clothes, food, shelter, transportation, devices and toys made for us, and would rather enslave ourselves to a job and debt to pay for them than figure out how to make them ourselves. Comfort is frequently confused as a necessity. I actively cringe whenever I hear someone exclaim they need some new gadget or can’t live without something nonsensical like face cream. We don’t even want to know how to get by without these things, even when we value their ability to impress over their function. I don’t grasp why more aren’t instead concerned about knowing how to survive alone for a week with nothing but a rope, knife, lighter, blanket and bowl.

Without a degree of independence, we are nothing but groveling babies. “Every person should stand on their own two feet.” This only applies, of course, to those that have been given and still have two feet upon which to stand, a privilege which we must not forget some lack. Perfectly capable people unwilling to do things that those less fortunate would give almost anything to be able to do ought to be ashamed.

Hard work, especially manual labor, is actively avoided by most. We seem to have gotten the idea that physical tasks are somehow beneath us. I strongly oppose having a sense of entitlement that excludes us from doing the things we expect from others. The oft repeated claim that one should do what one loves or enjoys is frankly immature. Nobody should exist in suffering, but we should all pull our own weight whether we like it or not. Striving to improve, seeking insight and maintaining compassion are often anything but fun.

Anyone who would avoid suffering by bringing it upon another is the lowest example of humanity, and yet it not only happens all the time but is actively encouraged by our society. We should seek out the things that make us uncomfortable, not to desensitize ourselves, but to strengthen our humanity. I have no respect for anyone who would eat animal meat yet refuse to kill and dress that animal or sit in their heated home yet refuse to mine the coal used to heat it.

If one is not proud of having a strong work ethic, what is left be proud of? Conversely, one should not brag about doing work as if it somehow going above and beyond what is expected. While all should resist being taken advantage of, complaining about doing more work than someone else is not necessarily justifiable. It can be akin to running a marathon and then complaining that some people didn’t finish.

Comfort is a privilege, not a right, and, while great in small doses, is not worth gaining at the sacrifice of more honorable pursuits offered in life, such as competence, fortitude, integrity, empathy and wisdom.