Being overbusy may be a more frequent complaint in this day and age – most people seem to have their days cram-packed with activity, and they’re stressed and exhausted. But every now and then, I hear someone lament about being bored.
Not enough to do, or not sure what they should be doing.
Recently I heard about a friend of a friend who’d lost a bunch of weight and was starting to feel better physically than she ever had — more energy, not oversleeping any more. But she had a new problem to deal with: She had extra time on her hands, and she didn’t know what to do with herself.
It was actually a little shocking to hear about this, since it’s not something I can quite relate to. I understand boredom, and sometimes we all feel a little ennui. But not knowing what to do with yourself? This is not something I’ve felt in many, many years.
The reason why?
Because of meditation.
Now, I am not suggesting that if you’re bored, you should meditate – though certainly you could! What I am suggesting is that meditation will give you untold riches — the most valuable of all being that it helps you understand your purpose in life. The more you meditate, the more you uncover the reasons for why you’re here, incarnated on this planet, in this time. Once you get a tiny taste of that, the whole world opens up. Everything changes.
If you’re coasting a little, or unsure of how the pieces fit together in the grander scheme of things, or if you’re just generally in a funk about life, an amazing way out of the morass is to meditate.
One or two meditations may not do much. But make it a regular part of your life and nothing will be the same for you.
A consistent practice of meditation can be like a light turning on, and you look around and realize that where you’d just a moment ago been sitting in a dark room half asleep, you’re actually in lobby of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory — or the Disneyland parking lot – or just outside a botanical garden full of prismatic and sweet-smelling beauties — and you are suddenly captivated by all there is to see and do and experience. And you get up and go in, and you lose yourself in wonders so captivating that you forget all about that dark room. You are engaged, and the world’s magic is all that you see.
Boredom is impossible when you know why you’re alive — because you’re so busy grabbing life with both hands to make the potential reality. Meditation can give you that.