On Being Bored

In spite of everything I have ever written about seizing the day, being in the moment, or being grateful for all the good things we have and all the bad things we don't have, sometimes I am just trying to get through the day. Such days are not necessarily bad. They're not good or bad. They just are. These ordinary days can sometimes seem like a test of my mental endurance. When you have a day that is just kind of blah, what can you do? You don't feel bad but you don't feel great either. You just feel bored. Wherever you are, you want to be somewhere else. Yesterday was such a day for me. Maybe it's spring fever. I did go out a couple of times during the day and the late afternoon sun and the cool breeze made me wish I was out walking in the woods somewhere. Since it was Monday my spirit may have had one foot still stuck in the weekend or I may have been in denial that it was once again Monday. I couldn't wait to get out of the office. Sometimes on days like this, when I am feeling unmotivated, and if the weather is agreeable, I roll down the windows of my car, crank up some rock and roll, and cruise down the highway. The breeze airs out my mind and the beat of the music gets me moving. If I can't do this, a nice nap always helps. I lie on my couch with a little breeze coming in the window. Soon I am transported from a blah, ordinary day to another galaxy. Inner space travel lifts the spirit and a nap cures many things. I suppose all of us feel like this sometimes and I am no different. As I write this I realize that I am suggesting various ways of escaping the reality of a boring day. We sometimes talk about escaping as though it were always bad. I guess it is if you do it all the time. Sometimes, though, I just need to escape. I don't always feel the desire or have the resolve to face everything head on. I have heard there are three ways to deal with life. You can fight it, you can flee from it, or you can walk the middle path and be present to it. Normally I walk the middle path of contemplation. I used to fight it a lot but I am less resistant as I get older. Other times I run away to fight another day. Yesterday was a day I wanted to run away. Of course, nothing was chasing me except the terror of my own boredom. I am still car-pooling with my wife and daughter in law so I couldn't rock and roll down the highway, plus that is difficult to do in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic. So, as soon as I could get out of the office and into the solitude of my own home, I took a nap. I've never been bored while taking a nap.