Comfort Never Works

I make sure that all clothing other than sweats at home are necessarily uncomfortable. 

Being with other human beings is uncomfortable. And being with myself is harder still. However, I try to never let on because that doesn't help. 

When I get dressed (or undressed) a certain discomfort reminds me to be genial. I should act like I am at ease with myself as much as I am with others. Discomfort fosters these important fictions and reminds me to step up.  So many talk about how they dress to be comfortable or to feel themselves.  None of that makes any sense to me.

I wear a tie to work not because a tie is ever comfortable but because it reminds me that I have indeed tied my own noose, that I did this to myself. For work I have chosen to exact a special discomfort because that keeps me on my game, it is a manifest reminder of who I need to be.  I look comfortable because I'm actually good at what I do (n.b., granted it's a limited skill set) and it's I know who I am supposed to be.  I chose a subject that is so hard that no one should be comfortable---that would be phony. Some things don't get easier, they just go faster.  

John Coltrane on the cover of A Love Supreme is seen wearing a suit and tie.  Does Coltrane's art make you feel comfortable?  I hope not.  Coltrane dressed for the occasion.  That's what you do when you know that life isn't about being comfortable, it's about making discomfort your ally.

Only when I'm uncomfortable can I learn or evolve. I distrust, am bored, and for the most part dislike anything that is easy. The point is not to make life harder than it is but try never to forget why easy rarely means better. Rage on, calmly. 

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