OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE

(Photo courtesy of Photobucket)
We humans are creatures of habit and, although most of us like a challenge, we are wary when doing something outside our comfort zone.

I have friends who live in the country and very rarely leave the immediate area. They are used to navigating narrow, winding, dirt roads where, at night, only your headlights pierce the darkness. One has to be forever vigilant for animals jumping out in front of your vehicle. Your car breaking down in the middle of nowhere means you may or may not have a long walk before, or if, a good Samaritan shows up to help. Many country folk do not carry cell phones, and often trees and mountains will hamper the signal anyway, so the phones are not much use. You are on your own, and it can be scary walking in the bush in the dark. Yet these friends hate the thought of driving on the auto route or in the city. Too much traffic, they declare. Crazy drivers – you never know what kind of wild person you will meet – it’s nerve-wracking! Give us the country roads any day!

I also have friends who are city dwellers. If you mention driving country roads to these individuals, they come out with all the points I mentioned above, the most prominent one being the absence of street lights. They feel completely isolated if they have not met another car within 15 minutes, and it makes them uneasy. A country jaunt is okay as long as you are not alone in the car, and preferably during daylight hours.

The subject came up yesterday when Line, who will be the dog-sitter while I am on my trip, gave me her GPS to bring home with me last night. Her sense of orientation outside the city is not the best, and my programming the route into this little machine will keep her from getting lost. Each of the numerous times she has come to visit, I was the driver, and she didn’t need to pay attention to direction. The other employees, who reside within a 15 minute bus ride from the office, find her very brave, or maybe fool hardy, for even attempting such a feat.

It all depends what one is used to, of course. The girls expressed admiration for yours truly, because I am, fortunately, at ease either way. I have walked the country roads alone, in the dark, on more than one occasion, especially in my younger years when what I could afford was beat-up automobiles which ran mostly on a prayer. Some nights the prayers just didn’t work! I have also walked the city’s worst streets, again in the middle of the night, when I was working with the homeless youth. I was cautious, but not worried. In my case, heavy traffic has become a way of life and, although it can be frustrating, it isn’t frightening. I could brag that my comfort zone is pretty wide…until I have to get on an airplane…which is going to happen soon…and we won’t go into that just yet!

Speaking of which, I am not ready to leave. Reading Kilroy’s blog this morning (he just returned from a vacation cruise) reminded me of all the running around that must be done when preparing our departure, and then to catch up when we return. The older I get, the more I’d just as soon use my time off to stay at home with the doggies, taking walks in my familiar bush, curling up with a good book by the fire, hugging my little rug rats, and having friends in instead of me going out. My mind set will change as soon as I arrive safely at Karen’s place in Saskatoon, of course. It’s just the first step outside my comfort zone I find perturbing…and that just put an end to my bragging, LOL!

One thing for sure, things aren’t getting done while I’m sitting here writing. It’s time to get my butt in gear, so I’ll send you my warmest vibes and a reminder that, if you have to leave YOUR comfort zone today, do it with a huge SMILE; it will surely make the challenge easier to handle.

Luv from the Bush in Quebec