Staying in or going out

Familiarity is comfortable. An old pair of shoes. A favourite outfit. A long-term partner. A usual restaurant and order. A favourite bookshop and beverage. The things we do over and over creates a little cocoon around us. There's no need to stretch your mind, or legs for that matter, when all your needs are fulfilled by doing the usual things and frequenting the usual places. The pop psychology term 'comfort zone' immediately springs to mind.

The lyrics of a Fiona Apple song also springs to mind: "I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes... I still only travel by foot and by foot, it's a slow climb, But I'm good at being uncomfortable, so I can't stop changing all the time." Change can be good. Without change, there is no progress, no room for improvement, no opportunity to make something better of yourself. If you stay exactly the same life may be comfortable, but growing as a person is not something to miss out on.

I find that the need for security, predictability and familiarity rival a thirst for knowledge,and the spirit of discovery. I am reminded of Sam's response in The West Wing to the question - why should we go to Mars: " 'Cause it's next. 'Cause we came out of the cave and we looked over the hill and we saw fire. And we crossed the ocean and we pioneered the West and we took to the sky. The history of man is hung on a timeline of exploration and this is what's next."

It seems a little ridiculous to talk philosophy on a seemingly trivial subject, but I don't think metaphysics only apply to life and death situations. I find it comforting to stay within familiar zones in warcraft as well. I find myself returning to the Hillsbrad Foothills and Arathi Highlands with character after character. I find myself reluctant to enter new and unfamiliar territories where the unknown awaits dangerously.

But when I do, I find that the sense of discovery is more pleasurable than the tedious repetition of the known. Discovering new things, new places, even in a virtual reality, simply inspires new thoughts and new ways of being. It's more fun to be challenged, even when you come up short and trust me, at some point or another, you will loose when taking a gamble on something unfamiliar. It's just more fun to expand the horizon. Ironically, it also makes the home coming to familiar territory even more pleasant. It's so much easier to look at familiar things with rose-coloured spectacles when you have had the opportunity to miss it.