Comfortably Numb
Where are all the good stories?
People are bored, and yet they're entertained 24/7. How many times have you been hanging out with Friends or coworkers, and they tell stories about what they saw on TV? It happens all the time. People don't even think of witty things to say anymore, they regurgitate catch phrases for a laugh. Creativity is nill, everyone is so comfortable in their posh La-Z-boy recliners and their big screen living rooms, that people aren't going out and experiencing life anymore. We've become far too comfortable.
It's numbing.
I can't even watch TV anymore. I see TV every now and then, but I rarely watch it. My attention span for programmed entertainment only lasts a handful of minutes. I feel dumber, and empty like there's a hole in my soul...like I've given up on minutes of life that could have been passionate about something.
Recently I've learned that the best way to live life is to make yourself uncomfortable, atleast so you know you're still alive. It brings out the best moments and spurs new stories that your sofa can't give you.
On a chilly night I'll put the top down on the convertible anyway, and push the heat vents to the ground. Driving home feeling the cold oxygen hit your skin above, and the heat rise up from below pinches just enough to feel electric. You're off balance, but your breathing and you're living. You step out of your car tingling and buzzy instead of numb and comfortable. It's like smacking yourself to know you're still awake.
Or there's today, when I was on a 3 hour drive in a car with friends. The car's A/C was broken so we spent 3 hours sweating, getting beaten by the wind through the windows, trying the hear the stereo over the sound of the rushing air whipping through the car. It was uncomfortable, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything. It spurs things like a restroom stop for cold iced tea, and simple things like "Hey, I could take a whiz if there's a gas station up here." then walking in the gas station while your buddy says, "We'll have to see if this restroom is a 2 man operation. If not, you can go first since you asked to stop, so it's all you." We round the corner to see the big sign on the Bucyrus Men's restroom is missing the "N". You turn and say, "Looks like it's all ME dude."
It's simple, it's dumb, but it's life. It's my life and I want more of it. I want to feel sunburn, I want to be sore from golfing badly, I want to sleep on the floor while the other people take the beds, I want to toast with my friends at 3AM, I want to be the first person to wake up after 2 hours of sleep just so I can wander off on my own and watch the water hit the pier, I want to have to spend a night in an airport with family and friends, I want laugh until I cry, I want to feel humbled by the generosity of the people you love but don't seen often enough.
I don't want to be comfortable.
People are bored, and yet they're entertained 24/7. How many times have you been hanging out with Friends or coworkers, and they tell stories about what they saw on TV? It happens all the time. People don't even think of witty things to say anymore, they regurgitate catch phrases for a laugh. Creativity is nill, everyone is so comfortable in their posh La-Z-boy recliners and their big screen living rooms, that people aren't going out and experiencing life anymore. We've become far too comfortable.
It's numbing.
I can't even watch TV anymore. I see TV every now and then, but I rarely watch it. My attention span for programmed entertainment only lasts a handful of minutes. I feel dumber, and empty like there's a hole in my soul...like I've given up on minutes of life that could have been passionate about something.
Recently I've learned that the best way to live life is to make yourself uncomfortable, atleast so you know you're still alive. It brings out the best moments and spurs new stories that your sofa can't give you.
On a chilly night I'll put the top down on the convertible anyway, and push the heat vents to the ground. Driving home feeling the cold oxygen hit your skin above, and the heat rise up from below pinches just enough to feel electric. You're off balance, but your breathing and you're living. You step out of your car tingling and buzzy instead of numb and comfortable. It's like smacking yourself to know you're still awake.
Or there's today, when I was on a 3 hour drive in a car with friends. The car's A/C was broken so we spent 3 hours sweating, getting beaten by the wind through the windows, trying the hear the stereo over the sound of the rushing air whipping through the car. It was uncomfortable, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything. It spurs things like a restroom stop for cold iced tea, and simple things like "Hey, I could take a whiz if there's a gas station up here." then walking in the gas station while your buddy says, "We'll have to see if this restroom is a 2 man operation. If not, you can go first since you asked to stop, so it's all you." We round the corner to see the big sign on the Bucyrus Men's restroom is missing the "N". You turn and say, "Looks like it's all ME dude."
It's simple, it's dumb, but it's life. It's my life and I want more of it. I want to feel sunburn, I want to be sore from golfing badly, I want to sleep on the floor while the other people take the beds, I want to toast with my friends at 3AM, I want to be the first person to wake up after 2 hours of sleep just so I can wander off on my own and watch the water hit the pier, I want to have to spend a night in an airport with family and friends, I want laugh until I cry, I want to feel humbled by the generosity of the people you love but don't seen often enough.
I don't want to be comfortable.
posted by Charles Junk at 10:36 PM
1 Comments:
well you've certainly had your fair share of late nights and soreness so far, right? congratulations on avoiding uncomfortableness in your life thus far; i've been uncomfortable since I began to think for myself.
the two times in my life that i've ever felt numb to the world were when i was on anti-depressants and when i was on birth control.
i'm sure you wanted to know that.
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