Some things in life are naturally comforting because they are familiar to us. Most people can decide almost instantly whether they like something or not. When you walk into a store, or a new office or even someone’s home for the first time, you make an instant judgement. These judgements are usually spot on and stick with you.

There are two supermarkets about equal distance from my home. One is the “good” supermarket with a well stocked organic section, a competent deli staff and a decent wait at the check out. The other is the over crowded one with horrible check out waits and aisles that have no rhyme or reason. Just try to find a box of raisins, I dare you! There is something strangely comforting about walking into the “good” supermaket. There is a familiarity there, a sense of knowing that I will find what I want easily. When I walk into the other one (if I need a prescription or something the good one doesn’t sell) there is an immediate sense of annoyance, of not wanting to be there. Kind of like how most people feel when they walk into their office every morning. Few people actually want to be there, and spend all day dreaming about every other place they could or should be.

It amuses me that the subtle difference between one Starbucks and the next can actually effect my mood. Maybe it is part feng shui, and part the way you are treated in each place, but each establishment has its own feelings attached to it. Listen to anyone you know talking about the good diner or the good bank. Everyone has a unique and distinct comfort zone. If only life we such that we could spend most of our time floating through that comfort zone without bumping into all that other garbage. I guess then we wouldn’t even know what we liked because there would be nothing to compare it to. In the end, the other supermarket is really a blessing in disguise. Showing me what I would be missing without the good one!

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