'I'm getting used to being inconvenienced and you should too'

Life isn’t all about ease and it’s about time we got used to that

Ok so maybe this subhead is a bit harsh, but I genuinely think the Western world has an issue with selfishness. And before you tune out because you’re the most selfless person you know and what could I possibly know about that? (And ok, admittedly I know nada about your life) – please hear me out.

We live in a world of convenience. Supermarkets, when first introduced, were known as convenience stores, and some of our local 24-hour newsagents still are. In fact, when I first moved from London to the Cotswolds, I was dismayed that I couldn’t pop out at 11:30pm to get the salted almond nuts I was craving. Most of the shops in my area, are closed at 8pm (4 or 5pm on a Sunday - wild!). And God had ensured I’m in a season where I’m currently without a car, so I couldn’t just take a quick drive to the nearest petrol station to get what I apparently so desperately needed. Suffice to say, I survived without this salty snack and had to make do with the food I already had in my cupboard. Inconvenienced.

The other day, I was in a health food shop and making small talk with the woman at the till. We talked about the weather and how hot it has been recently (of course we did, we’re British) and I asked her if she was having to work the following day too, which was a Sunday. In response, she shook her head vehemently: ‘Certainly not, I don’t believe in working on a Sunday! It should be day to rest’. Now she didn’t say, ‘a day of rest’ which would clearly – to me – mark her out as a Christian or a believer who practiced a Sunday Sabbath, but irregardless, she was evidently not very impressed with the concept of a seven-day working week. In theory I totally agree with her. Everyone should get a day off for rest or hiking or church or an all-day brunch or whatever they choose to do with it. However, the economic churn that we live in, plus people like me who demand access to whatever we want whenever we want it, render this historic system obsolete.

One of my biggest regrets relates to this adverse feeling of being inconvenienced and it still makes me upset and rather annoyed at myself even now. About five years ago, I was hosting a dinner party at my apartment then in North London. Hosting is one of my all-time favourite pastimes and my home had just featured on Apartment Therapy so I was particularly excited about being able to present my new home and décor. I planned an elaborate three-course meal paired with wine for three of my close friends. A week or so before the event, one of my friends called to ask if she could bring a friend of hers who would be staying with her the weekend of the dinner party. She was hesitant to ask, and said she hoped it would be ok since I knew - and quite liked - the friend in question.