The Gift of Boredom

As we approach the halfway mark of the year, it’s a good time to reflect and remember the year that has come and gone, but with the year 2020, there were less memories and reflections to ponder and that seems a little odd. 2020 wasn’t a year of wonder and imagination, filled with excitement about what it would bring and what we would do. Unfortunately, 2020 was a year of wondering when life would return to normal, if ever, and imagining the worst case scenario with every human encounter. 

2020 brought out the worst in some of us and the best in others. We found fears we never knew existed and talents we never considered cultivating. Yes, the uptick in hours per day we all had that needed to be filled was greater than it had ever been before and for some of us, that was too much. For some of us, those hours became places where our dark imaginations live. 

BUT, we managed. We moved past the fears and forged a new life, a new perspective and a new normal. No, I’m not talking about masks or social distancing, I am talking about a new normal in ourselves that can face scary things and not succumb to it. That we can deal with life not going the way we thought it would and pivoting to a new life that is filled with joy and happiness. That we can find comfort in a walk or a bike ride where we used to need friends to occupy that space. That we can actually be okay being by ourselves with ourselves more than we have had to since we were children. And we can actually like it. 

I have rediscovered my friendship with myself. How I used to think and wander through my own daydreams as a child and now I can do that as a fully grown adult. How I used to amuse myself by just watching nature move from one space to another, whether it was birds hunting for food, a river flowing or a small bug in a hurry to get somewhere other than where it was, I have rediscovered that ability and gift. The gift of boredom. 

Boredom takes on a negative connotation in our minds, but it is a wonderful gift. I often wonder why boredom is considered negative when it is a true gift. A gift of time, of peace and of discovering. A gift where all of my creativity is steeped and marinated. All of my relaxation comes from boredom. All of my joy and happiness grew out of boredom. 

It was in those boring places that I first felt calm. That I first felt okay to do nothing. That I first said, “I’m just going to marinate here, right now” and proceeded to do it without a shred of guilt. Boredom became my choice over busyness everyday. 

And my journey into boredom didn’t start in 2020, it started several years ago. And for years, I rejected it like an ugly sweater. (Who needs a sweater in South Florida and who needs an ugly sweater?) After many years of shooing away boredom like it was a stray cat on my front porch, I was faced with living a life teaming with boredom. I was called to be an author. I certainly didn’t want to spend my days in that space of boredom, letting my creativity and imagination flow when everyone else I knew was busy and proud of it. I wanted to be proud of being busy too. But I also wanted to listen to God. 

So for the past three years, I have made it my mission to not be busy. To not be proud of all that I can accomplish in a day, but instead be humble in boredom. Humble in this magical, wonderful place that God has designed just for me. My own boring garden to frolic in and make up games to play and dialogue for background information and character interactions, my own treasure land filled with laughter and love. It gets even more amazing when I consider that this will be my life. That I could possibly spend 40 or 50 years in this space. That this boredom could be my new normal. 

So yes, I get it. I get how hard this has been on everyone and I get how well everyone is adjusting and redefining to a new definition of normal. It’s normal to have hours of free time where you can do an activity by yourself. It’s normal to eat meals with your family every day. It’s normal to walk to your desk in your own home to go to work instead of commuting to an office building. It’s normal to have your weekends free to do all those things on your “to do” list. I think this new normal of immense time, boredom and freedom is certainly something that we are all going to hold onto and cherish. We might not like how we got here, but we certainly are enjoying the results.

Happy New Normal!