: Astro : Travellin
Posted: January 26, 2015 Filed under: Kindness, Meditation, Yoga | Tags: art, beauty, Being, Body Image, Current Events, cycling, hedonic treadmill, Identity, life, love, Omaha, passion, self, writing, yoga 18 CommentsI really think I write about everyday life. I don’t think I’m quite as odd as others say I am. Life is intrinsically, well, boring and dangerous at the same time. At any given moment the floor may open up. Of course, it almost never does; that’s what makes it so boring-
Why do we become bored with cycling – running, our yoga practice – anything? Typically we immerse ourselves in rewarding and stimulating environment(s) – We have plenty of training apps and social media to keep us motivated, although, tracking performance or sharing memorable accounts of a recent race with friends, succeeds only in dividing our attention further from the inspiring moment at hand, perpetuating our boredom even more. Let’s honestly ask ourselves and reflect on how often we simply stare at our gadgets, with no purpose at all?
Why is our boredom hardly ever recognized, let alone less addressed and talked about openly?
…
What boredom does for me personally, is to pull open the blinds on some rather uncomfortable thoughts and feelings – Thoughts and feelings, I normally try to escape and block out with a flurry of activity. Case in point: Long bike rides, lets say 75+ miles, I often find myself bored, which means I spend more time looking up Stats and KOM’s with Strava. Rather than savoring the beautiful countryside flowing beside me. If you are ever unfortunate enough to attend one of my yoga classes? When some new-age hippie Wanderlust music starts playing fifteen minutes into class and you have been in down dog for 5 minutes? I have become bored and uninspired as a teacher. Time to hop on the old Hedonic Treadmill …
I find being bored so unpleasant, that I expend considerable time and energy trying to reduce it. The technological gizmos lying at our twitchy fingertips have put an infinite amount of “information” and “stimulation” at our disposal. However, oddly enough, this only serves to make “things” worse! How? Instead of just being we become stale to the world, seeking more stimulation and information … The treadmill rolls on.
Daily Meditation:
When we ease into the comfort of our boredom, we develop a deeper relationship with our true selves rather than our technology/phones/gadgets. There is a simple, brilliant wealth of creativity waiting for us …
CultFit 
Important insight! ~Dennis
Thank you mate!
I’m going to be controversial here and say that boredom and superficial people go hand in hand.
Boredom comes from expectations from the external world. When we get in touch with ourselves and our inner world, it no longer exists.
Thanks for rocking my boat this morning!
Discussing openly and talking about boredom can be pretty tricky to say the least. It seems to me personally, that over the years, as I tried to erase being bored with other things? I stopped being true to myself and my true spirit. Speaking of spirit, may your heart and soul be filled with warmth and happiness this morning – Take care my friend 🙂
This brings me back to a memory of when I was a child, lying outside on a summer day with my sister. We were bored. We did just lie there bored: feeling the heat, smelling the grass, hearing the insects buzz, looking at the perfect sky, having lazy and desultory conversation. Back then, being bored was a good thing:). I’ll try to keep that thought the next time I’m “bored”.
Enjoyed your writing as always!
My brothers and I used our “boredom” while growing up to do a lot of “creative” things … I suppose the statute of limitations has expired and its safe to talk about them openly 🙂
This might be neither her nor there, but bullfighters (of which I do not approve but grew up in that environment) start yawning uncontrollably before going into the bull ring. It is a known sign of fear. So maybe boredom is a cocktail of reluctance with a strong shot of fear?
” … So maybe boredom is a cocktail of reluctance with a strong shot of fear?” There’s a deeper and more boring reason to discuss behind this phenomenon – Classical fear conditioning. Its actually pretty interesting to read up on 😉 You could conduct your own little social experiment! Take note before class or during everyday life, all the “quirks” and “things” we do to comfort our souls. Thank you for getting my old melon spun up this morning and I hope you are not getting too much snow in your neck of the woods – Take care!
“here” sloppy typist, sorry.
It appears my less than savory writing and spelling skills are rubbing off on you 🙂
This is so funny because I was feeling bored during my run today! Which freaked me out because it was only an hour! I told myself to snap out of it because if I can’t occupy myself with my thoughts for an hour then that’s not a good sign 🙂 great post!
There’s a lot to do and see, savor and enjoy during an hour long run!
What is this “boredom” you speak of? Just kidding. It’s an important question. I think boredom is an awareness of a lack of something, a hole, or an empty space. It’s also a kind of fear. If I’m not “doing” something, do I really exist? Carlos Castaneda’s “Not doing” springs to mind. Thanks for the great post!
Does it seem we have been conditioned over our lives to fill these empty spaces in with “whatever?” After reading your thoughtful comment and rereading my hastily thrown together post – How do we know if in fact we really do exist? Profound question to start the morning 😉
I sincerely appreciate you stopping over and helping to evoke and shape the conversation here – Thank you and take care this morning!
Yes, the unruly mind revolts at the “nothing”. It is unbearable. It must devour experience continuously.
But I think my philosophy is getting, dare I say it…. boring!
Happy blogging, and watch out for that boredom. 🙂
Dig this. You’re absolutely right. We rely to heavily on outside things for gratification instead of truly living in the moment.
Yes! Thank you. Funny thing is, my partner came over and told me he was “antsy” right now. Trying to find a way to quell his boredom. I’ll share this meditation with him!
You’re absolutely right. I hike with a group every Tuesday and I find myself, sometimes, bored. I have to pull my attention to the wonderful landscape around me, just as you said. Thanks for sharing. Thanks also for visiting my blog. I appreciate it.