Travel broadens our perspective, as does any challenge that gets us out of our "comfort zone", our daily life that tends to fall into patterns of habit. A trip to Thailand did just that for me, and also allowed a lot of time for contemplation and meditation.

My first observation was the (to my eyes) horrific traffic in Bangkok, with millions of people bustling about at all hours. I realized that they were "comfortable" with scant inches between vehicles, where we demand a few feet, at least. Every time our car stopped at the infrequent traffic lights, dozens of motorcycles, bikes and scooters (some with 4 passengers in addition to the driver) would pass the lines of stopped cars to be first off when the light changed. What was most interesting was that they almost grazed the cars and each other as they passed, yet actual collisions were far more rare than seen in the U.S. Even riding in a tour bus later in our trip, I saw that they, too, were comfortable when the mirrors were less than 2 inches from the neighboring bus.

Most of our 18 days were spent in first class hotels in Bangkok and Pattaya, the tourist center, but two nights were spent at a new Buddhist temple carved from the jungle near Udon. There I got my first real lesson in "comfort" when I slept in a one man tent pitched on a brick floor. With virtually no padding other than bamboo mats, I found it virtually impossible to sleep, yet thousands of Thai people were "comfortable" with that and the cold water "outhouses". I later saw a friend' mother lay down to take an afternoon nap on her hard wooden bed (with NO padding) and realized that IS their normal "comfort level".

Another day found me hot and miserable in an overheated room in oppressive humidity (air conditioning is a "comfort" reserved only for the wealthy), while people chattered in Thai all around me. I realized I had been hot before, and cold before, and would be hot and cold in the future, and that it was my CHOICE to be hot and miserable, or to just be HOT. The minute I recognized that, and allowed it to BE, just IS, my misery immediately evaporated.

Thinking about that over the next few days led to a profound realization, one that my own mind rejected and did NOT want to examine. I realized that ALL human thought, without exception, ultimately relates to comfort or pleasure (or the avoidance of their opposites). Think about it for a minute, even if your mind finds it difficult. There is NO human thought or endeavor that has EVER been for any purpose other than to seek PERSONAL comfort or pleasure.

We pride ourselves (pleasure) on our enlightenment and speak of our true identity as spiritual BEings (pleasure), and say we love (pleasure) and do good deeds so we can think better of ourselves (pleasure), but ultimately we are purely base, hedonistic humans wired to seek our OWN comfort and pleasure. Sure, we DO want others to share that, but that, too, gives us more comfort and pleasure knowing we are not alone.

And so what? That IS the way we IS, and that, too, is comforting, isn't it?