That's a fine writing up on how to perceive "comfort zone" differently. In order to have a further dialogue I like to bring some more thoughts to it.
Although I can very well understand this claim, which you always put on yourself first in order to avoid putting it on others, one could all too easily overlook your words that "we regard our environment as an extension of our bodies". Therefore, as a supplement, I want to be a little exemplary, although it is clear to me that such examples encourage contradiction because they contain a component of sacrifice.
Well-being, which can be understood superficially as taking a break from a strenuous week at work, resting with all the comforts of home, going on holiday, eating and drinking well, going on a wellness or retreat weekend, taking a trip by car, etc.
The opposite of well-being in a situation where we expect things to run smoothly, for example, would be if we were to fly to a beautiful holiday island, have two weeks of free time ahead of us and then complain at the reception desk that the bathroom has not been cleaned to our satisfaction. Generally, such a thing is not necessarily considered as a cardinal offence, one is quickly on the hand to want to secure one's own comfort through others and thinks that one is also right with that. But to what extent this situation is actually consciously perceived as a malaise is once again a question.
To the extent that comfort zone means in this context replacing my feet with an airplane or a car trip, replacing my eyes with the camera footage of others, agreeing to the wording of the law without having gone through a process of finding fairness myself, and then arriving at that very wording of the law all by myself, I fail to see that creating comfort for myself can mean the voluntary renunciation of amenities.
That is how I interpret your words, that remaining in my comfort zone generally brings pleasure and ease, but in the long run it ends in stagnation and makes personal maturation difficult or even prevents it.
I would like to add that every situation one enters in daily life can be used as a chance to practice. Like the following:
- No coffee in the morning - am I nevertheless feeling fine not having it this morning?
- traffic jam hinders me from coming on time to an appointment - am I able to stay calm, even enjoy this intimate time with myself?
- my working colleague does not grant me a "good morning" - do I still greet him/her friendly?
- visiting a friends house, where I find a mess allover - can I feel still comfortable and relaxed?
- while baking a cake the mixer gets broken - can I see it as a positive challenge to finish the cake by improvising?
- Having been badly insulted - am I clear in asking myself; is the insult somehow correct? Is it not correct? In both ways, can I stay comfortable?
I hope, those examples can give the direction in a practical way how important it is, to stay comfortable with oneself. :)
Yes, the point is to realize that the comfort zone is a mental state, and not really an zone, as the name seems to indicate. In a way it is like personal space, wherever you are, it will accompany you. Only, of course, that the opposite usually happens, and we drag an discomfort zone wherever we go as long as we are not comfortable with ourselves.
All the examples you mention make me think that discomfort arises precisely when we don't know what to do. The answer for me is easy, if you don't know what to do, settle for doing nothing, and see everything else that you can do as an advantage.
I think it is very difficult, for the common people, to simply stand still and do nothing. From there can easily arise discomfort.
HaHa! It's actually funny to imagine someone dragging literally his space of discomfort with him! :D
best advice :)