Cadre Today - Comfort Zones Are Rad

B. B. B. B. B. ♫ ♫♫♫♫♫♫ ♫♫♫♫♫♫♫ ♫♫♫♫♫♫ I'll hit pause right there. Tina or I'd speak wonder how we do in this morning. That was a song called "Comfort Food" by Madeline May. Never heard it before. Novey lover Sue. Ooh, we got, we got like old school, like long-time and cadre peeps popping in this morning. Nice to see y'all and I hope it's nice for each of you to see each other. As you mentioned, that song was called "Comfort Food" by Madeline May. Never heard it before. But Madeline has 800,000 monthly listeners, so I think Madeline's doing okay.

The reason I played a song called "Comfort Food" is I like using music as a gauge for things that we find to be important and acceptable and nourishing in this world for humans. So, today I want to talk about "Comfort" Andy Mack. So I typed "Comfort" into Spotify to see how many songs have been written and successful with the idea of "Comfort" at the heart. And the fact that the top songs on the list are "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd, "Comfort Chain" by "Instupendo" and "Comfort Eagle" by "Cake".

None of those three songs are big songs. I think one of the reasons why is because comfort is not something that we're supposed to seek. We're supposed to get out of our comfort zones. We're supposed to be living with the mentality that no one's ever grown by being comfortable. And "Lake Lover" 1-1-2-3. I'd like to let you know today that we do a lot of grown in comfort zones. Comfort zones are indeed rad. I love comfort zones. You know why? Because we are designed to be loved, to be supported, to be safe.

That's why we have a rest and a digest part of our nervous system. That's why our body holds on to things that if all of a sudden we're not comfortable. We have stores of energy and oxygen and memory and thought and feeling and love . All these things that our bodies hold on to in one way or another are we supposed to be comfortable? Now again, too much of anything's bad. True statement. Or an imbalance of things is an imbalance of things. So I'm not saying that being comfortable all the time is the best thing for a human being.

But I will say that living in this space where we're always trying to get out of comfort is kind of absurd. You don't see the squirrel every morning try to dodge cars to get better dodging cars. You don't see the deer put a big bullseye on itself and be like, "Okay, we need to go get better and not get shot by the hunters. So let's go ahead and get out of our comfort zone and go poke the hunter in his butt with our antler." No. We don't see small fish, you know, going, "Nah, nah, nah, nah," to the shark.

There's no other species that for fun or by thinking of it's the right thing to do, jumps out of their comfort zone without context, without clarity, without some benefit that we see of what we're getting out of it. So two things for you today. Number one, enjoy your comfort zones. Number two, when you're exiting your comfort zone, make sure you're doing with great purpose and clarity, knowing that there is joy and love and safety on the other side of being out of it. Because what I'll remind you, just like I remind anybody when I'm teaching class, is let's say someone is coming to an exercise class and they're working really hard and they're sweating and they're huffing and puffing and shaking.

I'll say this. I'll smile into the mirror and I'll be like, "Hey everybody, remember, this is all your fault." Meaning, if you are huffing and puffing and sweating through that workout, nobody's doing that to you. Nor do you have to do it. Nor is it a privilege to, like all the things we hear, it's like, "No, but you 're doing the thing with the intent of some joy, some benefit, some privilege on the other side." So, enjoy your comfort zones, y'all. Nourish yourself in them. Be in the midst of them loudly and show other people you're doing it.

Because when you do, you normalize the fact that we kind of live in a world that says, "You always need to be getting uncomfortable and people are soft." I go, "I see people giving themselves a hard time, more than giving themselves a break." That's the world we live in, y'all. So, no matter where you are, normalize the hard stuff, normalize the easy stuff . Enjoy the easy stuff loudly and go ahead and maybe do the hard work because you know why you're choosing to do it and the silence of your spirit and your vocation and your call.

Because guess what, cadre is this wonderful place where you get to hear all the perspectives, you get to find what you need when you need it, and in the midst of that, you get to hear these words. And I'm glad that I'm here. I'm glad you're here. I know what I know and I care about you. All these things wrap you up in a space where you can go, "Oh, yeah, you know what? I need to be on my side." And people actually benefit when you're on their side too. Jewell says, "I took a huge leap of faith and accepted a position outside of public safety yesterday.

Let's go, Jewell. That's a huge step out of maybe comfort zone. But Jewell, I'm curious. Feel free to in chat. Let me know how it feels to do something that maybe for some reason somehow feels right. 1% better. Happy Friday, my friend. T. North, 2 funerals to lead today thinking about you as you hold space for others. Yeah, right? I'll say like T. North, you and I have both been in the ministry space for a long, long time. I'll tell you, my comfort space is being in that space in T. North. My last Sunday at the piano bench is this Sunday.

I've been a church musician since 1998. That's what, 20. I'm doing math. 27 years and Sunday will be my last. And it feels kind of good. And it feels kind of sad. And at the end of the day, that's where life lives in the midst. So no matter what you do in today, y'all, enjoy the moments when you're in the comfort space. Enjoy the moments when you're not. Let's go ahead a little comfort eagle by cake to play yourselves out. Happy Friday.