We are born into a society that places huge importance on creature comforts. From our sofas to our jammies to our socks, to our cars, comfort, comfort, comfort. Not only our physical comfort is vital, but our emotional comfort is as well. Depressed? Here is a pill. Cant sleep? Here is a pill. Got the sniffles? Here is a, well you get the idea. Discomfort is to be alleviated at all costs. We seek insulation from that which is distressing. Our offices are climate controlled, we barely go out of doors unless we want to, and for vacation we want the plushest hotel, closest to the sunniest beach, with the best blender drinks. We want sunscreen, Ipods, and luxurious towels.

It does not stop there. Our 401Ks need to perform, but without risk, our jobs need security, our spouses need to be on time, our lives need to go on without a hitch. We need to be cared for in our old age, we need social security, a dental plan, cradle to grave avoid discomfort. Ads scare us that if we dont by their product we might experience it.

If we were lions and had a choice between the Serengetti and the zoo, there would be a line for the zoo. Give us scientific formulated lion chow at pre-determined times, move us outside in the morning so we can snooze all day, and move us inside in the evening so we can snooze. File our nails because we dont run, worm us, and put us on birth control, regulate those hormones, and anything in us that might be hint that all is not right with our domesticated, sedentary existence.

In the beginning of American Beauty Lester Burnham said, I just dont remember being this sedate. And sedate equals comfort, comfort ad nauseam. Ever go to bed after a day of firewood cutting, or fence building? A day spent on the hard seat of your road bicycle or kayaking down an unknown river. How about after a day pan handling with a shopping cart with a bockety wheel? That is sleep that is hard earned, sleep that doesnt require a glass of white wine and an Ambien to achieve. A day spent ignoring your comforts; a day spent relying on yourself to make it through. A day where you did not know exactly when your next donut or cup of coffee would be. A day when you did not know if there would be a next donut or cup of coffee.

You can rock climb if you want, or you could just go on a long hike. Walk through a dangerous neighborhood, be dropped of somewhere blind folded and then have to make your way back. A day that breaks through your social facades, your ego trapped living, your brick Tudor on the desirable street. Take a one way airplane ride without your credit cards. What would you do? Too much to start? Talk to someone on the elevator, someone you dont know, and most likely will never see again.

Comfort should not be a goal; it should be a reward, a temporary reward, a glass of water on a scorching afternoon. Comfort and security is the enemy of creation. Big bang did not erupt from the lounge chair nor did rock n roll, or the discovery of America. Comfort is the enemy of progress, and the destroyer of energy.

Mac McMann writes from the male point of view at http://www.manslant.com