Yawn More, Sweat Less
Stop the train wreck of your daily life. Learn to enjoy doing nothing
Boredom is good for you. Feeling tired for not knowing what to do sparks creativity, gives time to think and reflect, allows you to better know yourself and entertain conversations that you otherwise would not be able to have. Too often we live our lives at an unsustainable speed. Why so? What are we chasing, bent as we are on our keyboards, angry and always too focused to even realize that our children are looking at us, reaching for our hand, some quality time, and perhaps just a smile. What is it that we think we will find at the end of this race?
Aside from the time that we spend operating technology for the necessity of sustaining ourselves, every day we are faced with the option of sticking our nose to a screen and passively shoving digital content straight into our brain, or doing something else. If we seat on our couch and wonder, waiting gently for boredom to generate our first yawn, we can do real good to ourselves. We can open that dusty book that has been sitting on the shelf and waiting for us to read it, eager as it is of bringing us to another place, another dimension, or maybe just another state of mind.
My daughter is about to turn two, and is discovering the joys of learning day after day. Her favorite children TV series is no more available — a little girl exposed to Italian, English, and Spanish, she has been enjoying this series in British English for a few months now, on an average of less than an hour per day. The moment we looked for the program but couldn’t find it, she didn’t seem too concerned. Instead, she went to her room looking for a book. I like to think of her mind as of a rainbow — a feast of many colors shining together and reflecting her developing intelligence. We read aloud, together. She is happy, and her gentle voice makes the sounds of dogs, cats, and cows.
When time comes for a nap, I usually take advantage of the break from an obviously demanding toddler and her need for undivided attention to rest myself. If I am not too tired, I indulge in reading or add another journal entry to my diary. Not having a fixed schedule aside from working hours gives me the chance to focus on my own thoughts.
If I look back on the years of my childhood, I see the terrible consequences of the lack of boredom. I remember my friends’ hectic schedules: English private classes, swimming lessons, playing soccer, and living a life tailored to them by their helicopter parents. Many of them aren’t the same high achievers of their teenage years — they have too soon experienced burnout.
Boredom can save us all. We just need to allow it in our lives, knowing that it can do us no harm. Try this exercise: get bored, clear your schedule, do nothing. Look out the window and let your mind come and go, your imagination shape worlds you have never visited before. Indulge in a yawn and savor, for once, the joy of not knowing what to do.
