The Gift of Boredom

I’m so thankful my parents didn’t jam-pack my schedule with activities. Sure I had piano lessons, trumpet practice, gymnastics–plenty of enriching extras, I assure you, but there was enough downtime for me to complain. “I’m sooOooooOOOooo bored.” Which of course produced the pat responses: “Only boring people are bored.” Given enough time and structure to be left to my own devices, I learned how to entertain myself whether that was surrounding myself with World Book Encyclopedias and nerding out to developing a beaded jewelry hobby that eventually paid for itself.

As a single adult who juggles a full-time job, three and a half cats, a home, a garden, a vehicle, important relationships, all while trying to get adequate exercise/sleep/nutrition/hydration means I long for a little bit of boredom now and then. I remember in times of intense crisis (I have had a few. Some of my people are currently in the midst of it), I longed for just a little bit of boredom. Maybe that puts too much of a negative spin on it. Maybe what I really mean is a longing for simplicity.

I chatted with a friend and relayed how much the act of puttering around my house, a slow mosey of tasks interspersed with creation and snacks, is my absolute bliss. Life is a fast flowing river, sometimes with rocks and rapids, but a little rest in the eddies at the edges is so blissful. If you find yourself in those places, soak up every last bit of that joy to sustain during the rougher patches. Maybe it takes practice to discern when we’re in them. If you’re thinking to yourself , hmmm, I’m bored, maybe you’re actually in the midst of bliss. Most things are a question of perspective, I think. 🙂