“Serious things cannot be understood without laughable things, nor opposites at all without opposites.” ~ Plato
Today I wrote a poem for my writing group about pleasure during the restrictions of Covid. The process had me consider how valuable all kinds of discomfort can be.
Most summers I go on 2 or 3 portaging trips with my family. We carry a canoe and all our camping gear between lakes to explore backcountry areas. One of the best (and worst) things about portaging is the intimate encounters with contrast. I enjoy spending time outside most days but there is something about living consecutive days outdoors away from the convenience of home that sharply brings discomfort and pleasure into focus.
Expending energy paddling and hiking, setting up camp and taking a bit longer to make meals outdoors, for example, builds an appetite and sometimes ‘hangry’ companions. All of this also creates conditions for food to taste so incredibly good.
The physical challenge of paddling against the wind or extra long portages shouldering the weight of all the gear makes the reward of seeing a moose, an expanse of water lilies or finding ripe blueberries, exponentially pleasurable.
On one of our trips last summer, we went portaging with some good friends. There was no wind our first night. We explored our little spot looking for fire wood, cooked and ate dinner sitting on some rocks by the shore, saw some turtles and watched the sunset. And then, while we chatted around the fire, the magic evaporated into thick buzzing clouds of hungry mosquitos. Talking had become a hazard because we were literally eating them. We went back to our tents earlier than usual but sleep was illusive in our tent until we finally made the buzzing stop and our tent looked like a crime scene. The feeling of pure luxury that followed is hard to describe. We slept beautifully and gratefully.
On the last day of that same trip we packed up and made the journey back in the pouring rain. I’d made sure my husband and my daughter had a raincoat but realized I forgot my own. Changing into dry clothes in the car after hours in the rain was such a simple and complete happiness. So too was having a hot shower and climbing into clean sheets that night.
Doesn’t discomfort lend all of us opportunities? What about other opposites in your life; Love/Indifference, Courage/Conformity, Solitude/Companionship. Aren’t each sides of the coin crucial to the existence of the coin itself?
Think about an experience in your life that currently bristles you. And then, be on the look out this week for all the ways pleasure is made richer because of it. I would love to hear the discoveries you make that surprise you. Respond in the comments or send me an email.
Here is my poem about the melancholy serpent of Covid restrictions and the implications of everyday pleasures…
