Today is a very busy day for me and I was looking forward to it all weekend.
Besides all of the normal events of my Monday morning, like checking email and planning for All Saints Day,, this Monday is special. In a short while I will again read stories to the children of CNS. We began this practice during the covid-affected school year of 2020 and have continued it in 2021. Reading to the children is a blessing to my heart.
Today I am reading about Father Abraham and Isaac--not the most child-friendly story, but I know how to shift it. It went well this morning and I assume that it will go well again as I read for the afternoon session. My iPad is ready and so am I!
Yet as part of my busy day, I have already found myself feeling off. . . feeling like something is missing.
Could it be my missing cup of coffee that accompanies me to the office (today I am enjoying some cranberry juice)? No coffee can be an issue for some people. . .
Maybe my office is too cluttered and messy to provide my needed focus (I do have a lot of totes scattered around the room)?
Am I preoccupied with some visits that I am making this week or a dinner that I have planned tomorrow evening? (All worthy, yet all taken care of).
Or perhaps, as I read recently, I am just not bored enough yet to be creative . . . Let me explain.
In a blog post, Maria Popova wrote:
"When was the last time you were bored--truly bored--and didn't instantly spring to fill your psychic emptiness by checking Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? The last time you stood in line at the store or the boarding gate. . . and didn't reach for your smartphone seeking delivered from the dreary protest of forced idleness? A half century ago, Kierkegaard argued that this impulse to escape the present by keeping ourselves busy is our greatest source of unhappiness. . . And yet ours is a culture that equates boredom with the opposite of creativity."
Maybe I am struggling with a lack of creativity because I am not bored yet. . . As I thought about Maria's conclusion, and my first thoughts about it, I returned to my initial question: Why did something feel off today, like something was missing?
Perhaps what we need most is not more tasks to fill our days beyond their capacity. Perhaps what we need is more time to get bored and allow our creative minds space to rest and eventually to work? This is definitely counter-intuitive but I wonder what its evangelistic value might become.
As I thought about boredom, I remembered my children and how they engaged themselves when they were bored (or as they became bored). For children, boredom equates with the potential for discovery and creativity. When a child is bored they often begin drifting from one thing to another in an attempt to fill the space. While this can frustrate parents and teachers it is a natural part of our of development as people.
Emma struggled with being bored. She needed us to fill her time for her. Emma only recently learned the lesson of boredom. It helped her learn to paint and play the guitar. She craves the space and looks for times when something new can be brought into her life.
And so I wonder about you today. Are you so busy that you miss the chance and opportunity to use the boredom of every day life for the creative glory of God?
Blessings
Rev. Derek
No comments:
Post a Comment