A tenuous metaphor

(This started as part of a reply comment, but I wanted to expand on my thoughts beyond the time I had available, so copied it into a draft post that I could edit on at my leisure. Tom, you've given me a good chance to write - albeit obliquely - about something I've been dealing with. I mention this so you'll know I'm not attempting to elucidate some lesson for you, as if your shivering over my pictures represented some sort of deeper issue that you really need to deal with. Nothing of the sort.)

Don't you think we overrate comfort sometimes?

Physically, in the realms of fitness and sport, we don't make real progress until we push ourselves further than we thought capable. "No pain, no gain," whether the pain is the physical ache of our muscles or the toughening of our psyches. Little irritates us more than an athlete who looks for the easy way out, getting by on performance aids or not giving their all to fulfill their prodigious talent.

Intellectually, until we challenge our mind with new ideas and new ways of thinking, our conception of the world can be a set of superstitions (which can take many forms, including rationalism). It can be difficult to encounter a seemingly well reasoned perspective that counters our own. Sometimes we find a flaw in that perspective that allows appropriate parts of it to then fit into our understanding. Other times, we may be surprised to find that our view has been incomplete or inaccurate.

In Christian parlance (I'm sure other spiritual circles make similar observations), we speak of the importance of leaving our "comfort zones" to reach out to others in new ways with the love of Christ. This is an important and often overlooked aspect of becoming the Body of Christ in the world, as we learn to recognize and minister to His presence in ways we never considered before.

I've been dealing with a weird combination of feelings in my life (I'll spare you the details). It would be easier not to experience them, and I've long been careful to avoid situations that evoke them. I didn't respond so well to them, at first, falling back into familiar, old, and - well, a bit immature - patterns of thinking. But I've subsequently become convinced that dealing with them more appropriately is playing an important role in my becoming the person I'm called to be. So while they're uncomfortable, and somewhat evitable (like that morning's cold, which I didn't have to face, after all), I believe that - in the long term - choosing to avoid them (by holing up in a safer or warmer or more familiar and comfortable emotional "place") will really keep me from important growth (something better than a few great pictures).