Our Comfort Zones!

Fr. Francis Scaria

All of us have our comfort zones. A good doctor finds comfort in his profession. A gardener feels comfortable in his garden. A housewife feels comfortable in the kitchen and finds fulfillment in cooking good food. When we are in our comfort zones, we feel relaxed and we are in control of the situation. We like to work in our ‘field’. Sometime we excuse ourselves saying, ‘this is not my field’. Sometime we exclude others saying, ‘this is not your field’. The comfort zone gives us confidence and happiness.

At times we are challenged to leave this comfort zone and work in a strange zone. This brings challenges. A doctor who finds comfort in the operation theatre, may feel awkward to work in the garden. A housewife may feel restless when she has to spend some time in an office atmosphere.

The religious vows invite a person to leave the comfort zones of her/his life. She is challenged to find comfort not in a zone but in a person who is constantly with her.

The vow of poverty challenges us to leave the comfort of what we possess. When we have enough food to eat, sufficient cloths to wear, an adequate roof over our head, a vehicle to move around and some money in our purses, we feel comfortable. The vow of poverty invites us to leave that comfort zone to find comfort in the providence of the heavenly father who clothes the lilies of the field and feeds the birds of the air (cf. Mt 6:25-31).

The vow of chastity invites us to leave the comfort of a family. It is in our family that we really feel ‘at home’. It is there that our hunger is satisfied, our tensions are released and our anxieties evaporate. It is in the company of our beloved ones that we find consolation, support, comfort and encouragement. Jesus challenges us to leave that comfort zone to find joy and consolation in Him.

The vow of obedience too brings discomfort. When we do what we like, we feel happy. It is easy to work out own plan and programmes. We have an agenda anxiety which surfaces in our conversations. It is not seldom that we try to interrupt the person talking to us to tell them something similar that happened to us. We are anxious even to tell what we want. Even more anxious are we about doing what we want. The vow of obedience beacons us to come out of this comfort zone and find comfort in God who keeps directing us in unseen but surely omnipotent ways.