Are You Bored?
Uninspired, disinterested, lethargic, and distracted.
These are just a few of the words I use to describe the family of emotions I often experience.
We think it's terrible and it makes us uncomfortable.
Boredom's discomfort is the birthplace for mental, physical, and spiritual rejuvenation.
Being busy is safe:
It's safe because we don't have to face the truth as long as we stay busy.
Busyness is like walking at full stride past a full-length mirror. As long as your clothes somewhat match, you look pretty good.
Being bored is scary:
It's scary because we catch up to ourselves when we're still.
It's like one of those lighted magnification mirrors at the beauty counter. When you look into it, you see EEEVERYTHING: every scratch, scrape, and scar. The blemishes, lines, wrinkles, dents, impurities, and cracks are all laid bare for you to see.
That's what makes it uncomfortable. It's so much easier for us to look from afar. When we have the courage to look closely and love what we see, we can see the story between the lines.
We can see the wounds & scars that have made us. The wrinkles and lines that define us. The imperfections make us unique.
As the head of a major furniture brand once told me,
"If something has one scratch, it's damaged and worthless.
If it has 100 scratches, it has character and is priceless."
Our lives mark us and make us. From afar, we can lie to ourselves (and others) and pretend they aren't there, but when we are willing to get close to ourselves, we can see deeply into who we are, beauty.
If we are to understand who we are, we must be willing to develop the skill of boredom.
We go through our day talking to ourselves and asking questions. But have you taken the time to answer?
It's ok for you to be bored.
Silence isn't a void to be filled; it's a gift to be enjoyed.
Next time you find yourself impulsively picking up your phone to distract you from being with yourself, put it down.
Sit.
Silently.
Breathe.
Be.
