The Zone

Everyone has one.  That particular area or space.  It can be something as simple as a favorite chair, or the very space that surrounds us at any given time.  Regardless of just where it is, we all have a comfort zone.

A comfort zone also applies to many different things, besides just our physicality.  It applies to the way we think.  One example of this is what I refer to as the 'epiphany of adulthood' ; that moment we realize our parents really did not know everything...that is never comfortable knowledge.   Our religious beliefs fall into comfort zones and to pull us out of those zones can lead to utter chaos.  Forming first opinions usually are done within the confines of our comfort zone.  It is always easier to peer out from our special place and cast a judgement, than to check all the facts.

If a person is not too involved in extracurricular activities and they have recently moved to a new area, it can make meeting new people a challenge.  Having a staunch comfort zone can make it nearly impossible.  Recently, I put my zone to the test.  I did something that is the ultimate 'no-no', I stopped alongside the road and picked up a total stranger.  Well, they were a total stranger to me.

My husband knew this person because they and their spouse had recently moved into the complex.  His expertise, in fixing things needing fixing, was summoned to their apartment, on more than one occasion.  During that time, he came to know these people well and one day the wife asked him a question.  She asked if he thought I would mind taking her with me on a grocery shopping trip.  Of course, Mr. Knows Everyone In A Four County Radius, regardless of where he lives, said he didn't see why not and brought me her phone number.  I pondered on that number for several days.

One morning, without giving it too much thought that could lead to changing my mind, I sent a text message to the number.  I stated that I would be leaving at a certain time, to go to the super big box store and would she like to go.  She accepted the invitation.  As I turned the corner into that area of the complex, there was a woman standing alongside of the street.  I lowered the passenger window, pulled up to her and asked, with a smile, if she needed a ride and she hopped right in.

It did not take us long to discover that neither of us were ax murders.  From that point, we talked like we had known each other forever and perhaps, in another lifetime, we did. 

This method may not work for everyone, or work favorably all the time.  The next time we peer out from the safe little window of our comfort zone, to make an unjustified analysis of someone or some thing, stepping out of that zone, to get a better look, could make a world of difference, in the whole world.