Boredom As A Form Of Stimulation

''The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom.'' -Arthur Schopenhauer

Happy Monday loves!
I hope this post finds you in great spirits and ready for the week ahead! 💙 💫
Today’s post is about boredom, a concept which has always fascinated me!

Let’s face it: now more than ever before in history do we have options to be constantly stimulated.
If you take our social gadgets alone, they can provide us almost limitless ways to keep ourselves ''entertained''.
So, how can we become bored, one may ask, if we have so many different ways to seek for entertainment?
I’d be tempted to scream ''Hedonic Adaptation!!! ''.
We become used to everything in our lives so quickly, that a stimulus that once made us feel excited, now fades away in the background, while other stimuli catch our attention first hand.
Four years ago, when I was first diagnosed with depression, I remember feeling constantly bored. Most days, I would go to bed at 6hpm, and even if I did not fall asleep, I’d still lay there, as I was just hoping the day would end.
Fast forward to today, I don’t even remember the last time I felt ''bored''.
Even if I do very similar things every day, I simply don’t get bored.
To me, there are just too many things to do and discover that I can’t seem to feel what boredom tastes like.

The way I see it, is that it’s all about a matter of perspective.
We have been brought up to think that a lack of stimulation or ''excitement'' equates boredom.
But what if we decided to switch things around a little?
What if we chose to find the stimulation that can be found when there seems to be ''none''?
We are so used to things being a certain way, that when we lose power in our home and we can’t surf the internet no more, suddenly, life just becomes ''boring''.
The thing is that everything comes from the mind.
It’s our human mind that makes us believe that certain things are exciting or not.
But we got to trick that little bad boy!!!
Novelty does not solely come from being ''entertained'' in the ways which we usually would think of.
Novelty can be found in a dark house with no internet connection when there’s a power outage. (This happened to me a month ago, and trust me, I even had more fun than before it happened! :P)
This was the only downside….

Finding joy in the trivial things is what I have strived to and will continue to strive to be all about!💜✩
I owe mindfulness a lot for that one!
For instance, doing the dishes literally is one of my favorite things to do during the day!
I’m telling you, boredom is not real!
It’s rather a product of our own mind.

However, that was not always the case for me.
For the longest time, I would look for any external types of stimulation I could, to escape the dreading fear of nothingness.
As much as food tastes good for a moment, as soon as you finish eating it, the feeling of boredom comes again.
Instead of findings all sorts of ways to repulse it, why not welcome it?
Why don’t we try to find joy in monotony?

Meditation not only changed my life in ways I have yet to fully comprehend, but it also definitely changed the relationship I have with boredom.
When the favorite part of your day is when you sit in the lotus position eyes closed and focusing on your breath, few things can appear boring after that.
The simple act of being with myself is enough for me to be entirely content.
Now, throw me in the woods tomorrow, and I probably wouldn’t come back here, for all I know!

Can someone please get me this😍 😍 😍
Can’t wait no longer😭 😭 😭

Take a moment to think about it.
Our ancestors probably did not experience boredom.
Their minds were surely too occupied to focus on their ultimate survival, that they could not allow themselves to drift into a passive state of being.

Building a reservoir of inner amusement resources is a goal worth striving for!
At the end of the day, the only person that can fulfill all of our needs is ourselves.
Sure, we can keep on fulfilling them with things or people external to us, but sooner or later, there will be times where we will have to be entirely alone and be cool with it (hopefully).
We may escape ourselves our whole lives, as I know some people who dread passing a day alone at home, but I don’t think it’s the best idea.
The idea is not simply to accept boredom, but to fully embrace it.
Love you all !!! 💜 🌠