By Diana Poist
Published on November 7, 2007
I have a book in my personal library titled “The Next Exit.” It’s a handy-dandy volume for anybody who likes to travel, and I do.
Let’s say I was traveling south on Interstate 15 in Utah, headed toward Provo. This book tells me that, if I get off at Exit 276, I will find a Blimpie, a hospital, and a Jeep dealership in case I’m tired of my present ride.
Very comforting. It even lists in red print any location that can handle my motor home without my having to stop traffic to turn around. This book and a good atlas are always tucked next to the driver’s seat in my car: those and a map of Pensacola. I like to be able to get the “big picture” when I head off on a trip.
It is surprising how many people of all ages, both men and women, I have talked to over the years, who have never been out of their home state. Most people have rarely ventured more than a few hundred miles to see an aunt or grandparent. Living in a military town, there are many transient residents, but ask a local and most won’t have been far.
In truth, many people who find themselves caught in a traffic jam will sit for an hour waiting for the traffic to move rather than take a side street to look for an alternative route. They just won’t get out of their comfort zone, and even streets that run off the familiar everyday route are out of that zone.
Too many of us live our lives that way. It contributes greatly to prejudices, intolerance, unnecessary fear of our fellow man, and a limited world-view that robs us of the richness of the world and cultures that surround us. We travel the same roads, shop the same stores, and eat in the same restaurants. It’s a comfort thing.
My oldest son and his wife used to live in one of the most wonderful cities in the United States, Denver. Every weekend they had the opportunity, they would take their roadmap and a guidebook and head off to anyplace that peaked their interest. I loved to visit them. When I arrived, they would have a list of the neatest places to go and my visit was filled with sights, sounds, and smells completely out of my personal experience-and sometimes out of my comfort zone.
They were adventurers, people who were willing to push the limits of their everyday lives and experience places and people beyond their front door. I have vowed that when I grow up I want to be just like them.
Have you stepped out of your comfort zone lately? When was the last time you saw a beautiful neighborhood and turned down the street just to admire the houses? Have you struck up a conversation with another student on campus who is disabled, or of a different race? Do you even know the name of the student who sits in front of you in English class?
There is an adage that states, “familiarity breeds contentment.” This is great for toddlers and small children, but by the time we get to college we need to be willing to venture beyond the familiar and out of our comfort zones. There’s a big world out there and modern technology is making it more and more accessible.
I would never advocate blindly setting forth, but some people will have the courage to do just that. For me, I take my handy “Next Exit” and my atlas, make sure the gas tank is full and the air pressure is right, then set out. I have a hunger to see the people and places beyond my front door. I might just play “Pin-the-tail-on-the-interstate-exit,” get off there and find out how far out of my comfort zone it actually takes me.