Efficiency is the operating premise for the virus in the show Pluribus we’re watching on Apple TV. It’s fascinating to see how their all-in-one society works so seamlessly toward a common goal—but always at the cost of nuance, quality, and innovation. Everything becomes black-and-white. And it makes me think about our own culture’s relationship with convenience: how easy it is to forget or skip the harder, slower path, even when the longer path is the one that forms us.
It reminds me of my preparation for childbirth years ago. I learned a lot about natural birth—not because I think it’s the right choice for everyone (it isn’t)—but because I wanted to understand my own body and what was happening inside it. I loved reading stories from midwives, doctors, and women who had gone before me. Their experiences helped me see how capable women can be, and how understanding the process can lead to more confidence and, sometimes, better outcomes.
But because most births happen in hospitals, certain protocols prioritize efficiency and predictability. Those systems exist for safety reasons, and still, sometimes the things designed to make birth smoother or more “manageable” also create challenges of their own. Pitocin is just one example: it’s an intervention used over 50% of the time in hospital births and rarely in home births. I know a woman whose doctor was close to getting off shift and administered the drug because he wanted to “move it along.” Yet when administered, contractions can be significantly stronger, leading to a higher need for pain management, can cause uterine rupture, distress the baby, and even cause death.
What I’m noodling on is:
What happens to us, as humans, when comfort becomes the primary goal?
When we routinely bypass discomfort, challenge, slowness, or uncertainty, what do we lose? How does it shape who we believe ourselves to be?
I’m not advocating for pain or hardship for the sake of it. I’m just trying to understand what it costs us—individually and culturally—when we assume the easiest route is always the best one.
Maybe what’s at risk is the very stuff that makes us human: curiosity, critical thinking, the capacity to do hard things.
Love, Jaclynn
Going On 40 