Can you be blissfully bored?
It's only Wednesday and I have already mistaken which day it is twice already this week đ -- a sign that time is moving a bit more strangely than usual! Whereas my days had typically passed quickly due to packed class schedules and various social obligations, the latest Covid surge has once again served me with more free time and days that pass slowly or sometimes blend into one another.
A friend's comment years ago surprised me enough to have stuck with me, "Wow, you really INSIST on being busy all the time!" Wait, wasn't it admirable to always be working hard? Wasn't I making my life and those of others better by filling my time with classes, meetings, meals, parties, service, projects, tasks and more?
Exactly a year ago when Taiwan first went into Level 3 restrictions was probably the first time I ever really questioned some of my tendencies to fill my schedule so fully. What was I scared of in the moments of stillness and doing nothing? Had I equated a lot of my own self-identity and worth with being constantly productive and viewed downtime only as a means to recharge to get back to work? Was I really enjoying, even remembering, half of the things I did if I was so rushed?
Sure enough months later, the classes and students returned, the events and socializing picked up and I happily pushed aside my self-reflections in the name of "catching back up" and keeping my head down to grind.
Well, here we seem to be again, and this time around I've got a new motto that hopefully can stick đ) : "Do less, enjoy more!" A reminder to encourage myself to feel bored, to play, to be curious, to rest, to do things slowly, to be more particular about who or what I give my attention and energy to. Instead of focusing on more activities, classes, possessions, money or gains, to see if it could be true that I could have more fun, more joy, greater appreciation, maybe even less stress by slowing down and having less of what I've been in the habit of chasing. I'm not doing it perfectly, but I'm feeling a new sense of bliss in moments of boredom!
With so many things having slowed down in Taiwan at the moment, perhaps the motto can serve you as well! And if you are elsewhere and it feels like life is moving a million miles an hour, maybe, "Do less, enjoy more!" is something you need to hear even more to help you make some edits in your schedule!
Remember, we are always here to help you find a way of adding more joy and playfulness to your day with our in-person, livestream and on demand classes--can't promise the hour will go by too slowly with how much fun we have though! đ
Keep moving!
xx,
Katie