Comfortably Numb

" Now I'm comfortably Numb" , so declared the maroon T-shirt.Price : Rs.449/-.Expensive !

That was what I wanted to be , instead of being always nervous and under confident in all situations.Comfortably numb and confident.

Comfort zones : we erect barriers , mental and physical ,to protect ourselves , and we feel safe inside them.

The term comfort zone is used to denote a type of mental conditioning resulting in artificially created mental boundaries, within which an individual derives a sense of security.(wikipedia)

These boundaries tend to result in an internal state of mind, an example of which would be rigid attitudes and beliefs, which may not necessarily be true. This may or may not manifest as an external situation in the individual's life.

An example could be a recognised need to leave an unsatisfactory job but the fear of doing so as it would result in losing the sense of security the individual derives from the job. The sense of security the individual perceives could be attributed to the mental conditioning formed initially.

A comfort zone may result when the mental concept that (a) person(s) has/have about something and actual reality of it, are not congruent with one another.

These days I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone and explore .I believe it will help me expand as a person.

So I do the one thing that I detest the most.I tag along with a couple of women who are shopping for clothes.Men will agree that there is nothing more boring (and terrifying) than accompanying women while they are shopping.One false move , and one wrong answer to such trick questions as "Does this make me look fat ?" will land us in a lot of trouble.

 

I tell them that I'm going to tag along with them .They don't object, but ask why.

So I squarely tell them that its for my blog.

(I lied , but since I tell them its for my blog , I'm obliging them by writing one)

So two women  ,( one of them looks like salma hayek according to Myheritage.com)  embark on a shopping trip with me in the  undertow.

They take me to various shops exclusively catering to women .Women's clothes , accessories , footwear, lingerie  etc.

I'm a guy .Given a chance to ogle , I will.

But being the only guy in a ladies-exclusive shop , I simply couldn't ogle.  

Performance anxiety? Perhaps...

I'm naturally petrified.I don't want to enter these places.But I make myself enter them and promise to stay there no matter how uncomfortable it gets.

I want to run away , I don't belong in this all-women kingdom, but somehow I stand my ground.

I learn that these two women think that shopping for clothes is a chore , a job to be done as quickly as possible.But the way they deliberate , the way they mull over their  decisions , it seems like it is a matter of life and death. Who knew that ? I thought women loved to shop for clothes!

I do learn that 3/4 th pants are called Capri's (also learnt they are pronounced kay-prees)

Man , I'm glad to be a man.We men have pants , shorts , shirts and t-shirts.Thats it ! No Capri's , no stoles , no scones (!?), just simple shirts and pants.

I'm also learning to be comfortable in a patently uncomfortable situation.

Why are you doing this? they ask me ...Do you like Karan Johar? ...another veiled question which actually means to ask "are you gay ?"

They know that I'm not.But they can't resist teasing me.

I don't tell them about my comfort zone theory.Maybe some other day.

But then , truly like the women that they are (no disrespect intended) they don't find a single piece of clothing that entirely satisfies them.Some clothes are not fitting right and some are not the right kind and some are too expensive .So some-thing's missing always.

We finally go to a huge mall.I rejoice as I'm never bored in malls.

I actually go and pretend like I'm going to buy toys for my non existent seven year old brother and ask the sales lady about the right toy to buy.

I also talk to other sales ladies and I no longer feel uncomfortable in the ladies section.I go to the mens section ,browse at some T-shirts.

One t-shirt says "Now I'm comfortably numb "

Its true !

I am...

I don't buy the t-shirt.I simply go to the bookstore in the mall , excusing myself, now that I'm truly numb.

 

p.s.

This is important , because now , i'll be writing stories which will be truly out of my comfort zone.