Day 7: The Gift of Boredom
Morning Prayer
Repeat the fist, palms and open hands exercise from Day 2. Notice, without judgment, what has changed this week. Are you holding more or less tightly to things, or holding on to different things?
Physically make fists with your hands, and ask God to show you what tensions you are holding as you enter into this time. As you hold on to these things, ask the above questions again.
Loosen your grip, and hold your hands open, palms down. If you are able, offer your concerns, frustrations, anger and resentment to God. Hold your palms down to signify that you cannot grab those things again.
Now, turn your hands upward and ask the Lord what he wants to fill them with today. As you hold your hands up, pay attention to what your soul desires with God.
***
Midday Reflection
Written by Dr. Matthew Green
Joyous Lord,
whose first act in the world was one of creation,
help us not to succumb to frustration,
but discover what opportunities it presents,
that we might join in your creative character and be like our Father,
who with Jesus and the Holy Ghost dance together with joy.
Amen.
Boredom as an invitation
“I’m bored.”
When I was growing up, it was the regular complaint of children and teenagers everywhere. Perhaps now, in an age of smartphones, streaming video, and social media, it’s not heard so often, but when we are placed in isolation, it’s possible that boredom may raise its head again.
Is that entirely a bad thing?
Someone once quipped that while necessity is the mother of invention, boredom is the weird uncle. “Find something to do,” was a mother’s frequent response to the claim of boredom. With nothing to occupy us, we may need to create something to fill the void, and creativity is an expression of the very God in whose image we were, well, created.
Boredom is an invitation to devise something new, to generate beauty that wasn’t there before. It is an overture to play and explore and find joy in something different. It calls us to search for new activities, new combinations, new expressions. And it presents the opportunity to do all of this with the Holy Spirit beside us.
If you find yourself bored in this isolation, is this perhaps an opportunity from God to explore your creativity? Is there a simple project you could do that might fill some time and generate a bit of levity in this space? Some suggestions:
Write a series of haikus or limericks
What can you make from a bunch of toothpicks?
Make up some new dance steps
When was the last time you made paper airplanes?
Create a series of simple comic strips
Write new lyrics to a song you know
Break out crayons or pencils and draw something
Build something out of a cardboard box
Whatever you choose to do, try to avoid judgement at your creativity. Explore and see what happens without demanding that it be perfect. Creativity is about process, not results.
Additionally, remember that the Spirit is there with you. As you create, spend the time listening, talking, and playing with God together. What is it like to talk to Jesus as you create and fill space? Can you be present to the Lord as you explore and play?
***
An additional reflection
Boredom, like most feelings, can also be a window into our souls. It is a signal that something is missing, or at least that our hearts believe something is missing. It is a sense of frustration that we aren’t getting what we expected or feel like we deserve.
All of those emotions offer up multiple opportunities to explore our deep hearts with God and examine our automatic habits of feeling and doing. Consider asking Jesus about what those emotions mean and what he might be inviting you to shift in your perspective, your activity, your awareness, or your capacity to wait.
Lord, what do I believe I am missing?
Do I expect more than I need? More than you desire to give me?
In what ways am I not trusting you to satisfy me?
Am I rejecting or failing to see something you are offering?
Have I become entitled to activity or busyness?
Am I so used to having others fulfil my desires that I have trouble recognizing them or meeting them myself?
Is this space a way of stretching me to become stronger? More patient? Better able to wait?
Is God inviting you to simply sit in your boredom, or to fix it? What does he say to you if you ask him?
***
An evening prayer of examen on the day
Each evening before going to bed, take some time to sit with God, reviewing the day and considering the following questions:
What has been good today?
Take some time to write down everything you are thankful for...the taste of your morning coffee, something that made you laugh, a conversation you had, something you read, anything. Thank God for these moments.
What has been hard?
When did you feel disconnected? What feelings came up that were uncomfortable? What unresolved thoughts do you have? What anxieties, fears or worries did you encounter? Speak these out to God, and listen for what he might say to you about them.
Ask God to show you how he was with you in the good and the hard today. Thank him for His presence and receive His grace.
What does it look like to trust him for tomorrow?