Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Too much time in the good ole U.S. of A. and I find myself avoiding opportunities to go outside of my comfort zone. It's easier to stay comfortable and I feel like most of us prefer the stability.

The problem is, being comfortable tends to lead to existing, rather than living.

Travel is a very uncomfortable experience. You are constantly meeting new people, smelling new smells, eating new foods, speaking a new language, using different transportation, learning new culturisms.

The more I travel, the more I find myself comfortable outside of my comfort zone. In essence, I become comfortable being uncomfortable. It takes some time to transition to my 'travel self', but eventually I lose the need to control my surroundings. I forget what it feels like to know what's going to happen next. I find myself willing to take steps in my life that I never would at home.

I read this quote this morning and it spoke to me:

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Your brain gets too comfortable in your everyday surroundings.

You need to make it uncomfortable.

You need to spend some time in another land,

among people that do things differently than you.

Travel makes the world look new, and when the world looks new,

our brains work harder...

You have to find a place that feeds you - creatively, socially, spiritually, and literally.

- Austin Kleon

Steal Like an Artist

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Istanbul, Turkey was a place that fed me. I lived there for a short summer in 2013 and while staying with a wonderful woman named Mine, I found my mind sparked by my surroundings. I would sit in her window, look out on the minarets, watch the seagulls fly by, and observe the peaceful streets below me. I would write in my journal for hours, ideas coming to me right and left, feeling more spiritually attuned than I had in a long time. Throughout the day I would wander down and find a small restaraunt to sit at and watch people walk by. Again, I found myself easily able to write and dream.

Hiking in the mountains of Provo, Utah, was another one of these places. Spending hours up Rock Canyon, hiking, dreaming, writing, and idea generating. It was an environment that spurred my inner self to make a difference.

I do not know if Ho Chi Minh City is one of these places yet. I have only been here a week so far, and I find myself very much uncomfortable with being uncomfortable. After living in the States for so long, what do I expect? I have not yet transitioned to my travel self. But that is why I travel, to shed off my need for security - my need for sameness - and take myself to the next level of living.

Where is the place that feeds you - creatively, socially, spiritually, and literally? If you have none, start searching like your life depends on it - afterall, it's vital to truly living.

Destiny Yarbro

Ho Chi Minh City

16 March 2016

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