Boredom Has Been Good To Me
“Let us endeavor to live so that when we come to die even the
undertaker will be sorry.”
Mark Twain
Rebecca Anhalt, founder of Healthy Mind Better Life, wrote a blog July 31, 2015, titled “Can
Boredom Trigger Depression?”
In her blog, Rebecca quoted J. Eastwood from his article in
Sage Journal, “The Unengaged Mind.” Eastwood stated, “Boredom is wanting but
being unable to engage in satisfying activities.”
Eastwood wrote there’s an inability to connect to internal
and/or external stimuli. Anhalt described the results of a loss of connecting
to external stimuli can be loneliness and hopelessness. She described it as nothing
in our environment holds our attention. A loss of internal connection can make
one feel disengaged from thought processes. Anyone with a history of PTSD may
uncover suppressed, negative thoughts or situations.
Being unable to connect may lead to negative thinking or unhealthy
attitudes. Some negative thinking may be: Black & White (All-Or-Nothing)
thoughts, overgeneralization, unreasonable expectations of ourselves, jumping
to conclusions and blaming others. I smiled reading these because many are part
of my character.
I agree with Rebecca Anhalt when she wrote that boredom could
also lead to positive experiences. Creative juices might begin to flow or we
might find purpose in life.
Boredom has been good to me and I have found purpose in life
because of it. I seek out projects, new life experiences and look for the
deeper meaning to life. It’s probably my liberal arts education in
undergraduate school that has led me to a lifelong learning process. I love to
learn new activities. I sometimes counteract the wave of depression by looking
for new hobbies to learn, stories to write or pictures to draw.
Experiencing new events improves my self-image and
re-affirms a belief that I can achieve anything I set my mind to accomplish. In
some cases, these activities offer an adrenalin rush.
In my book, PALS: Part Two, there are short stories about catching
alligators by hand at night in the Florida swamps, having lunch with guerrilla
fighters from Nicaragua and rafting some dangerous waters around America. Experiences that fill me with the adrenalin
rush help me combat my life-long clinical depression. I feel alive when I am in
those situations.
In my book, The Shade Tree Choir, Krame pressed his nose to
the dust-covered screen in his bedroom window that hot July night. He made
himself a promise nobody would ever again hurt him and one day he would get
away from his abusive home life. He became focused and succeeded in achieving
anything he set his mind to do. I am Krame. That book is about my childhood.
I am better at some things than others. We all are. I am not
good at golf but find it fun to play and to learn new techniques – like how to
properly hit a ball into the woods. And of course, it’s fun to learn new ways
to cheat without getting caught. I don’t keep score and people I play with know
I don’t take the game seriously. I enjoy learning all I can about fishing. I
throw all the fish back that I catch. Someday I wish I would catch more. There
was a time I studied and learned how to white water raft. Two of the several
places I rafted included the Grand Canyon and the Gauley River in West Virginia.
The motto for the rafting company on the Gauley is, “Where Nobody Hears You
Scream.” Trust me, people heard me scream.
I took horseback riding lessons that led me to cattle drives
and eventually working cattle on horseback. That experience further led me to
writing and performing cowboy poetry. After years of travelling America and
performing my cowboy poetry, I was given the honorary title of the Cowboy Poet
Laureate of Tennessee. Our governor and General Assembly gave this honor to me.
Boredom led my childhood friend and I to open a clothing
store selling second lines of blue jeans. We called our store “Sons-A-Britches.”
That experience led me to sell T-shirts to physical therapists in America. I
printed the spine on the back of the shirt and on the front was printed,
“Physical Therapy, The Backbone of Rehabilitation.” I did that for a short
time. I became bored with it.
I was a co-owner of a hospital supply business, a B&B
and owned a speaking company based on a book I wrote about stress management. I
read an article one Sunday in the Miami Herald about a lady who wrote a book on
that topic. I remember thinking how I taught my patients stress techniques and
could also write a book. It didn’t stop there. I created a company where
professionals could receive continuing education credits by attending my
classes.
One day I was bored and wondered what my next project might
be. Quiet time offered the ideas to flow into my head and I produced two
training videos that I sold in America. One was how to safely move patients and
the other was how to prevent back injuries for the equestrian. That video
allowed me to write articles for several international journals.
I believe that if we are quiet and let our minds relax there
will be doors of adventure that will open. I learned how to make soap, pottery,
simple jewelry, baskets, woodworking and stained glass. I recently started
teaching myself to draw.
From Sketchbook to
Scrapbook, is the name of a book of art my sister and I created together.
We don’t sell it. We made it for our own personal enjoyment. It was the first
thing she and I ever did together. That was the best part. We did it for
ourselves. We did it for the enjoyment.
I have written many books in a variety of genres and am now
working on a couple children’s books. In addition to writing the books, I am
doing some of the artwork. I write for only me. I draw for only me. I do these
things for my personal growth and often because I was bored.
I think the neighbors down the street are happy I learned to
play my saxophone and play it only for me with all doors and windows shut. I
especially like it when the coyotes sing along when I play. Playing my
instrument is like golf. I enjoy it but am not very good.
When was the last time you jumped up and started to dance?
When was the last time you let that little kid out and had some fun? I love to
be spontaneous and try to suck the marrow out of life. It’s one of my methods
to control my depression. I am attaching a link below to give you an example of
being a kid and doing something totally out of character. It’s called,
“Reggae-Rap by Old White Guy.”
So, I challenge you with this thing called boredom. The next
time you might be bored or hit with a wave of depression maybe relax and see if
doors of opportunity open. Go sit in the woods, along a river or on a cliff and
let the wind do its thing with your mind. You may find a new adventure.
My drawing at the top of this blog represents two things to
me. The mosaic pieces show there are many methods to treat your depression. One
of those for me is to draw. Secondly, I believe we are all made of those mosaic
pieces from life experiences and each of us is a beautiful piece of art. I plan
to add many more to mine before I am finished.
Some Links
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