Comfort II

I was thinking about the concept of grief and the process of grieving and the word comfort came up. The word is (at least it is for me) associated with the idea of relieving/minimizing pain in some way. It's the concept I embraced with I left the work force twenty years ago and lived off my savings for fifteen years. I still managed to encounter conflict, like when I got sued by someone for alleging incurring a concussion during one of my monthly dance parties, but that's a story for another time.  

The thing is, that is not the primary definition of the word,  which is apparent from a simple analysis of the prefix com "with" and the root "fort" from the latin: strong. To be comforted results in the ability to go forth with strength.

The implications are clear: we are in need of comfort when we are incapable of going in strength. A relief from pain may be a result, but it is NOT the ultimate goal. Comfort is a means to an end. Comfort is not an end in itself; we are expected to get up and get back into the fight.

And I now better understand the quote from C.S. Lewis, although I suspect that he (somewhat surprisingly) was defining comfort as a relief from pain and suffering, but he was describing my life during my sabbatical:

"If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair."