Embracing Discomfort

Not authoritarianism

I never imagined that I’d enjoy riding in sub-freezing weather. I run hot; like Oliver Sacks said of his body, mine came with an inefficient cooling system.¹ Cyclists advise that if you start out warm on a ride, you will overheat; I sweat whether I start out warm or cold. I wore heated socks and a pair of one-finger ski gloves, and my bike is fitted with “pogies” or bar mitts, covers on the handlebars. I’ve tried heated gloves, but my ring and little fingers get cold. I need a mitten. The ski gloves with an index finger and mitten for the rest work well, because I can brake and shift, and my fingers get less cold.

But it’s still uncomfortable.

And that’s good.

When I read Where White Men Fear to Tread by Native American activist Russell Means², many things stuck with me, but one was how he sneered at how people in modern homes have avoided nature because of its discomfort. We move from a climate controlled house to a climate controlled car to a climate controlled convenience store where anything natural has been itemized into an unrecognizable product. This alienates us from nature.

Nature invented the gift economy. The sun is free. Outside is free. It keeps you from staring at the screens. The time to be outside is not always “free” … and this makes it all the more precious.

In The Sane Society, philosopher Erich Fromm explains how humans alienate themselves from experiences and each other with technology; we go on vacation and see sights through a camera lens (or on a phone screen) instead of with our eyes. I enjoy taking photographs, but I try to put the camera, binoculars, or phone down and experience places only with my senses, and allow my memory to keep its own images. (I still managed to take over 800 photos in three days at the Grand Canyon.)

Sarah and I attended a Books & Brews event at a local brewery to support a Children’s Book Festival, and we chatted with her younger friends from a book club. We all kept our phones away, and had a great time, even when talking about terrible news. We were there for each other. Young people are stereotyped as phone-obsessed, but I think this is older generations projecting; we are all phone and social media obsessed, and want to feel better by saying “those people” are worse. “Generations” are a stupid division created by Advertisers and politicians to divide us, anyway. They prefer that we use that instead of “demographic,” because it has commercial connotations, which Generation X or Z or Alpha sounds like a sports team.

Beat them Boomers on Sunday, Gen Z! The Millennials are going to make it to the finals this week.

Going back to what Russell Means said, I think going out in the cold is a good thing. My friend

Chris La Tray

introduced me to the “Thousand Hours Outside” concept or challenge, and to do that, you need to be out there in all seasons. So, I ride in the cold. I walk in the cold. Humans have had “coat and glove technology” for millennia, and I use it. If a tiny damn bird like a sparrow can fluff its feathers and find some sunlight on a freezing day, a big hairless hominin like you can do just fine.

There’s something nice about being cackled at by a woodpecker when your cheeks are red and tight from the cold, and your breath is frosty. It’s as if they are cheering you on.

And let’s not get started on rain. We’ve had Umbrella Technology for a long time, and all those microplastics in our arteries are partly due to the invention of waterproof clothing. And yet, comfortable people will cancel an activity for rain, even when it’s held indoors.

Nature hike in summer, canceled for light rain. Is the rain unnatural?

Let the people who don’t have good boots, a hooded jacket, or an umbrella stay home. Find a hiking stick. Take your time. Raindrops on a lake are beautiful.

Of course, some trails turn into creeks in the rain. Be safe out there, but don’t let a little weather dissuade you. Discomfort is good.

Hot coffee and a warm fire (or car… or radiator…) never felt so good as after shoveling snow with your neighbor, or going for a walk and seeing the birds huddled in the trees in the rain, or fluffed up and singing their hearts out with joy for being alive, with their friends, and finding a seed or two. What else is there in life?

Get your ass outdoors, when it’s windy. When it’s cloudy. Appreciate the discomfort, and a sunny, mild day will feel like the blessing it is.

We’re in for a lot more discomfort. A little cold or rain may help steel you for it.

This piece by

Sarah Thankam Mathews

, shared by

Alexander Chee

in his newsletter

The Querent

, helped me calm myself and focus on where we are, and what can be done. I hope it helps you do the same.

how it is

This weekend, I will be visiting friends and family. I am privileged to have them, and to generally be in agreement on things with them. If you have this privilege, do not take it for granted, and spend time with them in person or communicate via the shiny tracking devices the oligarchs have convinced us that we enjoy carrying. (If you have privacy concerns, I recommend beginning with r/degoogle on Reddit. They have advice for Apple users as well.)

We will need each other, so start now. Take care of each other.

1. I like this better than saying I’m a sweathog, which was the name of the gang in “Welcome Back, Kotter.”

2. He also played Chingachgook in The Last of the Mohicans, directed by Michael Mann.