Find Comfort in the Discomfort

Do you ever see themes in life, or messages all around you, like signs? I do. I believe in signs, and I tend to see them everywhere.

In nature, all over my house, a call from someone I just thought of the second before, a daily email devotional, and sometimes a cloud in the sky shaped like an angel. But this theme starting appearing all in the same week.

I first heard it from Brené Brown. I was scrolling through Facebook one day and found a quote she shared from one of her books that said we have to find “The magic in the mess.” I immediately thought, “How do you do that?” I certainly can’t find my magic in this big old mess!

Then I starting reading the book “Magnolia Story” by Joanna Gaines. I was getting ready for a girl’s weekend at the famed Magnolia in Waco, TX and she wrote, “If you can’t find happiness in the ugliness you’re not going to find it in the beauty either.”

It’s true, isn’t it? A little gratitude always helps every situation. 

And then recently at a yoga class, we had to do a simple stretch. For some reason, I was tight, like an 80-year-old and I could maybe bend two inches. So in the serene and quiet class, I started laughing at myself.

I couldn’t stop. Like seriously, I can’t even stretch? I was perplexed, frustrated, becoming impatient, and just plain mad at myself. I was searching for a little relaxation, some quiet amidst the current storm of life, and even here in the tranquility, I couldn’t even do a basic move. 

That’s when the teacher noticing my anger rising said quietly, “Find comfort in the discomfort.”

Ok universe, I hear you. 

Life is hard. There’s stress, anger, frustration, and always a mountain of things to do. Add in a surprise cancer diagnosis and your whole world can be thrown upside down. And often we resist. We want things to be easy when we feel like we’re pounding our head against a wall. But in these moments of pain, sometimes we forget we need to just concede to the present. Allow life to come and just BE instead of reacting. Find a way to zoom out, look at where we all from all sides, and instead of going through the wall, find a way around. 

I’m seriously the worst at this. A recovering perfectionist, I always have high expectations. And you know what they say, “expectations are the blueprints for disappointment.” But it’s so important to learn to surrender to whatever it is we’re going through and learn to breathe. We are not our problems and our trials don’t define us. How we choose to react to them, however, will not only determine our moods but our well-being. We have the power to create our emotions, and it all starts with our thoughts.  

So think about your life. Maybe there’s anxiety, depression, divorce, a special needs child, or a chronic health issue. But remember, you too can find comfort in the discomfort. There is still joy, love, and peace everywhere you look.  

You just have to be willing to shift your perspective and find it.

Did you like this post? Then please join me on Facebook where I share life lessons and parenting stories. Also, you might like this post:

How to Ditch the Drama and Lose Toxicity in Your Life

Or read The Four-Letter Word We Need to Stop Saying Now.