As I sit and write this blog entry, I am experiencing an uncomfortable feeling. It’s hard to pinpoint what emotion I’m feeling, but it is not one that feels ‘good’- but feeling good is overrated.

 The other day in conversation about where I’d want to live, I shared that I wouldn’t want to live in a place that was like paradise. Lots of puzzled looks were reflected back to me, and I began to explain that there is no such thing, but if there was, we wouldn’t be able to recognise it. There is no joy without pain in contrast, there is also such value in discomfort. Difficult emotions have been the fuel for many great pieces of literature, artwork, music… I can attest to the value of discomfort as it has often been my motivation for making different choices, or even choosing to sit down and write this.

 A former psychotherapist of mine in our consultation said something like: “to be comfortably uncomfortable [in the therapeutic space] is where great work happens”. Without spilling too much into my next blog entry topic, embracing discomfort and the full spectrum of human emotions is valuable, necessary, and a gift. If we could maybe shift our goal of alleviating discomfort to sitting with our discomfort and exploring it, perhaps we’d have a better time.