Boredom

Boredom. We all feel it at times, but what is it and what does it really mean?

Jack Kornfield writes in “A Path With Heart”, “Usually we are afraid of boredom and will do anything to avoid it.”

He then goes on to say that “Boredom comes from lack of attention. With it we also find restlessness, discouragement and judgement. We get bored because we don’t like what is happening or because we feel empty or lost.”

It is not something we often talk about, but feeling alone, lonely or carrying a feeling of being lost or not knowing what to do with ourselves, is actually really common. The lens of social media makes us believe that everyone else is always busy, constantly fulfilled or in complete alignment with their soul path, however this is not necessarily true.

Kornfield discusses how this is part of the grasping and wanting mind, that is never content with where we are, to seek salvation in some future state of being.

So what are our options? Constantly filling every moment of our days with people, activities, work and external world stimulation, in attempt to run and resist these feelings, or perhaps we can stop and feel into them a little deeper.

When we pay attention to the boredom, the restlessness, or the need to run, we start to notice its energy. We start to become aware that like anything, it cannot last forever and the less we resist it, and instead allow, acknowledge and actually make space for it, the more we can alchemise it into presence.

That being said, it is no easy feat to transcend these facets of our human mind.

While the above is what we may seek to achieve, it is also a process that requires practice and time.

As we learn to sit with, make space for, and transcend the limitations of our ego mind, we can also bring in more of what aligns with our soul into our external world. For this will only serve to support us in feeling fulfilled and at peace and strengthen our capacity to be with more difficult feelings and mind states when they arise.