It seems there are the marks of construction and "progress" anywhere and everywhere you drive these days. And what inevitably comes along with construction sites? That's right. . . porta potties. They come in different colors, different sizes, and from different vendors. Port-o-Potty, Porta-John, Blu John, SaniPottie, etc. Driving back to school last night, however, a porta john caught my eye as it was named unlike any portable toilet I had ever seen before. It was called "The Comfort Zone." I chuckled at the ridiculousness of considering a porta pottie to be a desirable area of comfort. But without the distraction so readily provided by a simple turn of the volume knob, I did more than just chuckle; I started thinking.
You see, I have become very comfortable with the routine of school. I have become comfortable with the notion that I am in school and there's nothing I can do about it but just wait until I graduate in the distant future. Except that that distant future is here. And though I already have the next step of life planned out, and am incredibly excited about the work I am going to do this Summer, I still can't escape the eeriness of that fact that I will not be returning to school as I have after every Summer for the past sixteen years. Just like that, I will be leaving the so familiar and secure comfort zone that school has become for me. I never really realized it before, but "I'm stuck in school until I get my degree" has been a security blanket for me, an excuse of sorts to justify staying inside of my comfort zone.
I have been thinking about school and my other comfort zones a lot lately, and when I noticed the all-to-familiar porta pottie with the not-so-familiar name my wandering mind couldn't help but start making connections. You see, I would argue that when it comes to answering nature's call, a portable toilet is the least desirable option, as well as the option least likely to offer anything but artificial "comfort." But what's wrong with artificial comfort, really? After all, fake comfort is better than none at all right? No, I don't really think so.. Think about it: cramped, smelly, cold on cold days, stifling on warm days, and the cheapest 1-ply toilet paper on the planet. All a porta pottie succeeds in accomplishing is to make you regret having eaten anything at all that day and long for your truly comfortable and familiar throne back home. But even so, it is still more comfortable than finding a bush to hide behind.... Except it really isn't. That bush doesn't pretend to be a solid, lockable door, and leaves (should you so choose to use them) don't pretend to offer the comfort and quality of your tp at home. It may not be the most pleasurable thing in the world (though if you are a backpacker like me you know it can be, lol) but at least nature doesn't attempt to provide the illusion of comfort.
The point is, our comfort zones are the porta-johns of our life. They are a pitiful substitute for the real thing, and do nothing but keep us from truly experiencing what life has to offer us. The problem is that, for fear of the assumed discomfort of the unknown wild, we so frequently turn back to our comfort zones; even though they are no better, and are often worse, than what we might encounter if we would forget our fears and step out to experience the authenticity and awe-inspiring nature of imperfect life. Whether you are between a rock and a hard place or between a leaf and some quality 2-ply, the difference is the same: you are caught in the middle. And when you're stuck in the middle, you aren't going anywhere, and that highly prized comfort zone of yours is only keeping you from becoming the person you are meant to be.
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