The usual

I walk over to the bookshelf where we keep the movies in my house and start picking out a movie. I am drawn to one of about five movies even though we have over a hundred and fifty at my house. I have seen these movies in combination at least five hundred times and I don’t know why. I just keep on watching them over and over again.

So the question is why? What compels me to watch the same movies over and over again. Take the movie Saved, I have seen it at least a hundred times. In that time I could have seen dozens of new movies and broadened my horizons. Instead I have collected quotes and inside jokes. I think in many ways it is a comfortable thing for me to watch Saved, especially with a particular group of friends. We are all a little scared to step out of that and try something new.

But is that a bad thing?

There are trade-offs to this. On the downside there are a great deal of movies I have not seen and should see and would enjoy seeing. It is not bad to be adventurous and try new food.

Then there is the side of me that always orders the same thing at a place. Menus are of little use to me because I know that there is nothing that I will like better than what I always get. There is nothing wrong with that comfort zone. Many of the movies I love like the Devil Wears Prada, About A Boy, Garden State and Almost Famous are inspiring and provide a reminder of the good things in life. Sometimes that is what you need.

Maybe just maybe the next time I’m out at a restaurant I will skim the menu and ask myself what I might be missing out on. I will reach out and grab a new movie from the shelf, one I don’t know every line in, one that is not comfortable like a pair of jimjams on a rainy day — yes About A Boy does meet that description — instead it will be like a new pair of jeans. Something to break in and get used to. Maybe just maybe it will become my new comfort zone.