Comfort with Discomfort

A friend of mine told me a story this week that really made me think. She was at a local store when she was approached by a stranger. This stranger was a woman in a difficult situation. The woman wanted to leave the store, but there was a problem. In order to solve this problem, the woman came to my friend for help. She was standing in line when she was approached. She could see the strain on the woman’s face and knew there was a problem before she even asked her.

What she asked was for help out in the parking lot. Puzzled, my friend asked what was wrong and quickly followed her out to the parking lot. When they got outside the woman started to explain the problem. Her car was parked next to another car in the lot, just like all the other cars. When the woman attempted to get into her car, she was unable. As she had explained without hesitation, the space between cars was too small for her to make it through. The woman calmly asked my friend if she could get into her car and pull it out for her.

Now, my friend, being a helpful person, was happy to get into her car and move it for her. She did so without thinking twice about it. But after the woman squeezed into her car and pulled away, my friend thought about what had just taken place. As she walked back into the store, she realized that a total stranger just asked her to get into her car and back it out for her because she was unable to fit between the cars, let alone open the door and fit through it.

The more she thought about it, the more my friend found it to be disturbing. I agreed with her, as I thought about how uncomfortable this woman must have been. Not just in this situation, but everywhere she goes. There are so many situations that are completely uncomfortable for overweight people. These people are in discomfort all day, every day. I am not writing this to make fun of or even criticize anyone. I just want to ask the question: How did we get so comfortable being uncomfortable?