So this fellow and I are having this discussion which takes a moment or two to really get going, simply because he was talking about habits and I thought he said hobbits, as in hairy-toed short people. Don't worry - we sorted it out in quick time and were onto much more fruitful pastures.
It's all because I'm not native to this land being from New Zealand, and certain accents take a little, actually a lot, of focus to grasp.
Reminds me of the time that I met a true Geordie, from Newcastle, who upon hearing I used to live in Mexico tried to engage me in Spanish. Tricky to understand him speaking English let alone in Espanol, which is average in me at best.
But I digress. What became obvious is this:
There are some things which are comfortable to you - habitual you might say.
Because they are habitual you have set your life up around them - they are also convenient.
But just because they are comfortable and convenient does not make them life affirming and beneficial.
You have habits that add to your life, you have habits that don’t.
There are a thousand things you can and do fall into when you just want comfort.
Alcohol, drugs, sugar, porn, gambling, shopping, train-spotting…
Take a look at your life, what do you use?
Have you ever noticed that doing something different - even if it is life affirming and “good for you” - is rarely ever comfortable?
Like starting an exercise regime. Definitely not comfortable on a physical level, it hurts. It hurts on a pride level because you used to be so much fitter, it was so much easier…
But there is something in it.
You do it because you want to move on, you want to move forward.
Now, I believe you are reading this because you aren’t satisfied with mere comfort.
You’ve tried comfort and you want more.
You are okay being uncomfortable in order to really see what this life has to offer.
You are okay with at least the idea of giving up something in order to gain something greater.
And that is the point -
All habits are comfortable.
Because of this, you only need discipline for as long as it takes for a new way to become a habit.
Then it becomes filled with comfort. You didn’t know how you lived without the new way.
The rewards of the habit become convenient, close, quick and coming quicker.
You have become a different person, bigger, with a clearer perspective.
Finding time to sit down to meditate - for those who Ascend, sitting down to Ascend - is rarely comfortable in the beginning.
The doing is pleasurable, it brings enormous benefits in terms of rest, healing, clarity, effectiveness, joy and peace…
…but it may not be comfortable to break your other habits - in the beginning.
It may require you to turn off the TV, hide your phone in the next room, log out of Facebook…
It may require a little discipline - in the beginning.
Expect the resistance and do it anyway.
Crack on, because your life will become far more comfortable with it than without it.
Choose your habits wisely!
...and you definitely can choose your habits, just don’t expect comfort in the beginning.