17 responses so far ↓

• 1 Pam S. Mar 15, 2007

  Everyone tells me that I’m “exactly where I need to be for the moment,” and I KNOW that’s true, but boredom (and lethargy) scares the heck out of me. Everything is changing (life, self, others) and change is good. It is these transition times (boredom?) of not knowing exactly what’s going to happen, what’s going to work & what isn’t, the WAITING…the boredom of not being in the middle of the ACTION. I’m in “enforced” boredom, healing from shoulder surgery and ordered NOT to do certain things…which is FINE because I don’t FEEL like doing them anyway. Then something grabs me and whispers in my ear, “Yeh and maybe you’ll NEVER want to do them again!” I’m right handed and can’t even journal properly about it…that’s why I’m left-handed typing this to you! I’m Jen-Journaling!
  Thanks for bringing light to boredom. At least I know I’m not alone.
  Pam

• 2 ElizabethW Mar 15, 2007

  Boredom allows to view your life’s situation through a different window, as a shift in perspective. Much like connecting to the self on your yoga mat, the “waiting game” or boredom is literally one of life’s gifts allowing you to truly connect- to others, true self, nature, your source.
  Elizabeth

• 3 jennifer louden Mar 15, 2007

  A quote from my spiritual director:
  “Christ’s love so wishes our joy that it is ruthless against everything in us that diminishes our joy.”
  Listening to Your Life by F. Buechner, p. 58

• 4 Daphne Mar 15, 2007

  I always take boredom as a sign that I’m either overwhelmed and ‘blocking out’ the stuff I need to do, or that I need to get quiet and do something *else* for awhile (maybe those are the same things).

  Taking boredom as a sign that I’m not looking at something (that I need to look at) helps me to sort of re-set and figure out what I should do next. Not that I always do that thing next. But at least then I have an idea about what I’m avoiding.

  It’s also a good excuse to pull out old favorite books and re-read until I feel inspired again.

• 5 cindy Mar 16, 2007

  ok i admit it. i rarely, if ever, get bored. i have always felt that only boring people get bored. life is so full how could i ever get bored? and its not that im eternally busy or “perky”, its just that even if im taking “doing nothing”, time im not bored. i can sit and watch my birdies at their feeders. but i am not bored. the only time i can ever think of being bored is if, like jen, im forced to sit and listen to some boring lecturer. but it would have to be something compulsory or else i would even walk out on that. i value my time too much. so i can say with confidence i pretty much dont get bored.

  now if you talking about “waiting time” as in sue monk kidds book the “when the heart waits” THAT is a different entity in itself. and i do believe life does have its waiting times. transitions.

  but even in those i am not bored. so theres my spin….

  cindy

• 6 Tuxlux Mar 16, 2007

  Life is moments of sheer terror punctuated by long stretches of boredom.
  —Author Unknown.

  Quote frequently used by computer professionals during times of absolute FUBAR mayhem in the machinery.

• 7 Bettina Desrochers Mar 16, 2007

  I haven’t been bored in years..wow wouldn’t that be….fun?

• 8 Spike Mar 16, 2007

  Ebb and flow, baby. Ebb and flow.

  Just as the spirit comes in and out of bliss, just as blood goes in and out of your heart, so does boredom come in and out of your mind.

  There’s a medical term for what happens when ebb and flow are no longer present. It’s called “death.”

  Sit with your boredom. Sit with the feeling that you ought to be doing something, sit with the frustrated desire to see results NOW from actions taken THEN, sit for a moment and remember the emptiness of this moment for times when your life seems too full, when you’re spinning like a Sufi dancer on crank and don’t have a moment to do more than rinse your undies in the sink and pant.

  Ebb. And flow.

  Spike

• 9 Nicole Mar 16, 2007

  Boredom. Unfortunately I know this well. Well, I think ultimately it’s paralysis. You said something in the newsletter that really resonated with me–something about feeling like life should always be exciting and glamorous. I am a victim of my own perfectionism when it comes to this. The perfectionist thinks that I should be rich and famous and enlightened and you-name-it!! And when I am bored or confused the perfectionist goes to town on my self-esteem. And thus begins the cycle of paralysis. I think Perfectionism and Boredom/Confusion are secret partners-in-crime ironically trying to sabotage my success. I’m getting better at catching this and flipping it. I guess it’s a lot like meditation–it’s a daily practice that requires devotion and willingness. When I come from this perspective I see my Boredom/Perfectionism/Confusion as allies–they are the sign posts that tell me that I’m out of balance.

• 10 Mark Silver Mar 16, 2007

  “I always take boredom as a sign that I’m either overwhelmed and ‘blocking out’ the stuff I need to do, or that I need to get quiet and do something *else* for awhile (maybe those are the same things).

  Taking boredom as a sign that I’m not looking at something (that I need to look at) helps me to sort of re-set and figure out what I should do next. Not that I always do that thing next. But at least then I have an idea about what I’m avoiding.”

  Really helpful, Jen. This is the something else I’m doing, when I ‘should’ be doing another thing that I’ve had trouble getting to all week. And will get to, just before the deadline.

• 11 Gigi Mar 16, 2007

  I often think about what I am “here” for. I seem to be “busy” alot, so I’m not sure you can call that bored. But there does seem to be long periods of mindless daytime activities. Sometimes I feel very alone, even though there is a flurry of activity around me. I keep wishing that I would have kept a journal of the years past. I always meant to, but never got to it. And now my baby boys are now young adults and I’m struggling to remember where the time went:( I seem to be hitting midlife crisis and not doing it so well.

• 12 Sarah Mar 17, 2007

  I think that boredom often is a season, even if only for a few moments, that can herald new growth to come. Sometimes things are happening in our souls, in our centers, that would be too scary or threatening to recognize, and so our boredom can be kind of like God’s anesthesia to help us become ready for the next growth opportunities without becoming panicky. When I feel bored, I try to remember that there may be new movement happening within my spirit and that for now, my call may be simply to rest and wait, knowing that surprises wait just around the corner.

• 13 jennifer louden Mar 17, 2007

  Wow – what great perspectives on boredom… all the flavors of it, the ways to use it to reawaken… or not.

  Certainly it is part of the ebb and flow of life. That’s a big reflection for me these days and this discussion has brought additional clarity: boredom is. Neither good nor bad, and certainly not an indicator of a life wasted.

  Cindy, don’t you dare apologize for never being bored.

  And these days, being in my kitchen, especially early in the morning is not boring because there is a mouse, a rather large mouse, sharing our space. He/she likes to run between somewhere in the mudroom and the space under the stove. The dog does not seem to care, which considering she is half Jack Russell and thus BREED TO HUNT VERMIN, seems a little odd.

  I can’t kill it. Chris set traps but it ate the peanut butter out of them, for which I am secretly thankful. I did leave the door open yesterday but no luck.

• 14 Anne in Virginia Mar 17, 2007

  Hi, Jen and friends,

  I like the idea of boredom as “God’s anesthesia.” It certainly was so for me as a child growing up in an abusive family. I remember feeling bored most of the time that I was at home. Now I know that boredom masked feelings of sorrow and fear that would have been intolerable to a child. As an adult, I find that I often feel bored when I am tired and trying to force myself to do something I don’t have the energy to do–something that might come easily at another time. When I catch myself in this mood, I give myself permission to rest or do something less demanding. I also look for feelings/perceptions that I might be avoiding or might simply not have recognized (e.g., someone was rude to me and I’m still angry, but I hadn’t focused on it because I was too busy getting through the day).

  About ten years ago, I was going through an intense period of vocational discernment and felt fearful about admitting even to myself what I really wanted to do. I had periods of “boredom” or even acute sleepiness when I thought about vocational possibilities. During that time I read Gregg Levoy’s wonderful book, Callings, and found a quote in it from one of the author’s friends that made me laugh out loud: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you nap.” Indeed!

• 15 Lain Ehmann Mar 17, 2007

  Great comments here!
  xoxoxo
  Lain

• 16 Britta Reque-Dragicevic Mar 19, 2007

  I went through a time of chronic illness and it took me deep into the waters of learning to “be.” God, how hard that is to do! But it changed my life forever. A friend sent me a line during that time (I don’t know where the quote comes from, but it really was life-affirming at the time): “He also serves who only stands and waits.”

  We want action, but we forget that in the Universe’s plan for us, it’s not all about us. Sometimes we have to wait while other pieces of the puzzle are put in place.

• 17 jennifer louden Mar 19, 2007

  YES Britta!! Sometimes we simply have to wait.

  I keep thinking of the scores of mystics throughout time who did nothing but sit (or lie down, even better!) – never wrote a book, kept a blog, did a podcast, had a TV special – they sat and were one with Reality /Ever Present Awareness.
  And you know what? That was MORE THAN ENOUGH.

  Which makes me ask myself: is boredom my (very limited and limiting) interpretation of God?
  Could it be when I think I’m “bored” I’m actually in ever present awareness?
  Well of course I am.