Tired of the snow and cold yet? I am told that spring is due to arrive later this week but at this point you may be thinking “I’ll believe it when I see it!” For the last few weeks I have heard people say things like “Will spring ever come this year?” or “Maybe it will warm up in the next five months?” or “Not again!”
There is a sense in us that winter has definitely overstayed its welcome. Furthermore, winter was not a very good guest during its stay. It snowed all the time and gave us long stretches of bitter cold temperatures.
While we may be dying to get rid of this most unwelcome guest, maybe there is something that this harsh winter can teach us about the power of discomfort. We universally repel the thought of discomfort. One of our most natural instincts is to avoid it as much as humanly possible. However the popular blogger Leo Babuta says this about discomfort:
“The problem is that when you run from discomfort all the time, you are restricted to a small zone of comfort, and so you miss out on most of life. On most of the best things in life, in fact.”
As I reflected on this statement, I realized how true it is. If I wanted to avoid the cold at all costs, I would never leave my house and I would have the furnace turned up to 80. Of course, by doing this I would encounter other pains such as sky high heating bills and no social life.
In truth, most of us go on with our daily lives despite the discomfort. We work, we play, we walk the dog (with layers on of course). Life goes on. In facing the discomfort, we may realize that it is not so bad and that we can continue to be happy and thrive in spite of it. You may even find yourself becoming a source of “warm sunshine” to someone in need of good cheer.
By the way, the warm sunshine will eventually come! Until then, don’t underestimate the power of the sunshine that is already inside you.
Peace and Blessings,
Cylon George
Campus Chaplain
Published: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 12:02:34 +0000 by c.george