“When I was in Paris one of the believers brought me a soft cushion and urged me to put it under my head. I became accustomed to it and as there is none in this hotel my neck has pained me all these nights. To be the slave of custom is the worst habit. I will have none of it! When I was young I often had a brick or a piece of rock as my pillow, and I slept soundly."
Haji Niaz said that he had a soft cushion with him and asked to be allowed to go out and bring it. Abdu’l-Baha answered:
"No, no! I must get accustomed to my natural ways. This would not do. One must never accustom himself to anything the absence of which may disturb his comfort."
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Words of Abdul-Baha from the Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, July 17, 1913; Star of the West, vol. 8, no. 2, April 9, 1917)