“Children need to sit in their own boredom for the world to become quiet enough that they can hear themselves.” ~ Dr. Vanessa Lapointe
I think the same can be said for adults! This is so important since we set the example for our children. Why do we schedule our lives and our children’s lives to the point of exhaustion week after week? Is it because we are afraid to be bored?
Boredom has benefits.
Boredom is the greatest motivator. It teaches us how to make something out of nothing. It teaches us how to entertain ourselves. Boredom helps us become more creative.
I just saw the movie A Star is Born and I loved the scene where Bobby said, “Jack talked about how music is essentially 12 notes between any octave. Twelve notes, and the octave repeats. It's the same story, told over and over, forever. All any artist can offer the world is how they see those 12 notes. That's it.”
Of course, for us it might not be music, but the point is, we create the lives we live, and we need to see ourselves clearly before we can arrange our thoughts in order to become interesting and able offer the world anything important.
If we can learn to enjoy being alone, we will be able to hear ourselves think. We will be free to strengthen our opinions and our judgement.
If we embrace boredom, we can figure out what we are truly interested in. It moves us forward, because, when cleared of clutter, our brains are wired to seek out new things. Boredom gives us time to be curious.
Yesterday, a couple of different moms told me that they made sure they had absolutely nothing planned this weekend so that they and their families could recharge. I’m so excited for them! I hope they get bored!!! 😉