The Art of Leading a Boring Life
Being boring doesn’t mean not fully alive or passionate about what is important. It’s about leading a happy, low-key life enjoying the moment and people in it. It’s anti-chaos, anti-drama.
Now that I am twice as old as both my parents who died very young, I feel fortunate to be alive, healthy enough to be independent of work and family obligations. Boredom is wonderful if you understand its beauty. Young people want excitement every hour, every day, and they look oh so disappointed if they don’t get invitations to here and there. Middle-aged people have so many obligations taking care of family needs and work loads that there life and marriages often suffer.
Old age comes at the right time in life if you live long enough to appreciate how comforting it is to have no one creating emergencies that don’t exist or requests for money by someone who bring sin more than you do on a fixed income. Boredom means the CALM that precedes the storm that never makes it to your home and heart.
When I go to the store, the check-out line reflects the drama of life and the chaos of purchasing goods in a hurry, rushing out to a car, and speeding off to home. So busy. No time to stop and smell the roses in the floral section or speak to anyone in the store. Missed opportunities to spread some joy by smiling at the employees. These people need some boredom but do not know it. Someday I hope they have some so that they can relax, savor the coffee and the sunrise, appreciate the texture of a flannel blanket and the smell of cooking potato soup on the stove. Boredom is a gift.
For those of us who had happy lives before the evil Trump years of chaos and criminality, boredom is harder to achieve unless you work at it. Avoid 24/7 news for starters. Select a handful of trusted reporters and authors, and let the rest go. You cannot control the wars, the criminals, the courts, the Congress, or the Republican right-wing insurrectionists. However, you can write letters, call the Representatives and Senators to fight against unjust policies while you maintain your boring life.
Enjoy your little happy moments, your coffee as you write your letters or make calls—or simply pet your dog or cat. Ease into a life of gratitude that you are alive while many are not or are suffering when they should not be. Spend time in meditation.
I just retired at the end of August and moved at the same time, and I’m finally starting to feel settled. I am doing what I want when I want and I’m enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve started volunteering at my library and if I should start to get bored, I’ll find other things to do. :)
LOL it doesn't sound boring at all, so I guess it depends on your definition of boring. One of my favorite authors, Diane Ackerman (Natural History of the Senses), talks about how our bodies require startling and occasional surprises to stay healthy. She calls it being startled awake and I have to say I agree. That doesn't mean you have to risk your life, but if life was the same day in and day out I suspect it would become dull because the mind needs stimulation and something to chew on.