Are You Bored Yet?
I’m bored! is something I’ve come to acknowledge in this isolation period after four months. I do about 3 errands a week including two trips to the grocery store. The other might be a hair or doctor’s appointment or a trip to the pharmacy. I don’t go out to lunch with friends any more. I don’t “go” to church a couple times a week, because it’s all on-line. I have plenty of work to do, but that certainly doesn’t fill my days. I live with my daughter’s family, so there are people in my life. But… I’m watching more TV. It’s not like before when I was engaged with people and loving all that I did.
For the first few months, I was dying silk scarves, but eventually I couldn’t see any reason, like a craft sale, where I could sell them as an incentive. So I’ve taken on a project of learning the names of the trees in North Carolina, at least right now the deciduous ones. And that has been very interesting to me. As I sit and work on my sofa or take my morning walk I have an app, PictureThis, which will identify any plant that you photograph. And so, I am learning the difference between Red Maples and Silver and Trident Maples and Sweetgum Trees, between White Oaks and Chestnut Oaks, and many more.
I love the trees in North Carolina; they provide so much beauty year-round for me. But that hasn’t been enough to offset the boredom, so now I am calling a friend every day, usually here or in California where I lived for 40 years, to keep in touch and to feel connected. And that is really working. My hunger to “see” my friends is satiated when I talk to them either just on the phone or on FaceTime.
How are you handling the boredom? The trees and the friends are the suggestions of the Holy Spirit which have really worked for me. What works for you? I find I turn to God so much more often throughout my days now seeking His sustenance and ideas. I am so grateful for the book I am writing about the Beatitudes and becoming unattached to the world. That major project is the sustenance of my life which these other hobbies and connections really supplement.
I think often of my grandson, Jack, who wants to be a chemist. He would be a junior in college this year, except he’s not interested in learning on-line. So he has applied for an internship this fall to carry him over to when his college decides to open in a more normal way. He has several hobbies which have kept him going for years. He loves to cook/bake and to play the piano; he does both daily. He grows potted plants. He is also learning computer programming and building a portfolio of programs he’s creating that he thinks will help him get into grad school. All-in-all he’s a well-rounded young man whose interests will serve him for years.
We all have talents and interests that we may have not pursued for many reasons. They help us express the whole of who we are, not just our profession. Now might be the perfect time to start one up, as there now seems to be no end to this long period of isolation. Blessings, peace, joy and love, Pat