Change your perception of, and attitude toward, discomfort

The prospect of staying longer in the house of Jack and Dah, on the occasion of their travels in the country, seemed agreeable to a degree that was even enhanced as the dew point declined during this week, and I found myself spending less time in the pub and looking forward, as a man might in the morning shower look forward to an anticipated departure or an encounter with a certain lady that promised to end in a pleasant conclusion, to my evening cigar and a cold bottle of Singh, and a profitable review of the basic equations of gaseous heat transimission. And yet, as the week went on, I found myself to an increasing degree drawn to reading Swann's Way, from which I began to learn slowly a new manner of perceiving everyday events, as in reading the passage in which Proust's father, remarks to his son's visiting friend, who is visibly wet on the occasion of his visit to the house at Combray: "Why, Mr. Bloch, is there a change in the weather? Has it been raining?" Which drew from Bloch nothing more instructive than: "Sir, I am absolutely incapable of telling you whether it has rained. I live so resolutely apart from physical contingencies that my senses no longer trouble to inform me of them." This bringing to mind the teachings of the eminent Thai monk Buddhasa Bhikkhu who told of his many solitary months living in the forest near the current monastery of Suan Mokh, in the province of Surat Thani, and his conquest of mosquito bites in the evening by strict adherence to the precepts of the Dhamma. "Not using mosquito nets...was very beneficial. It helped us xpand our thinking, to feel unburdened, to wake up better, and to consider sleep as a temporary rest rather than a pursuit of or indulgence in comfort. It also helped us practice wakefulness to the best."