Worth in Doing Nothing

Worth in Doing Nothing


Usually there is a story or a nexus that happens that leads me to a blog post, but this time it’s just several thoughts swirling together, so I hope that’s alright with you. I recently told a friend who said he was bored that it was okay to be bored. In the United States, it seems like boredom has become an unacceptable pastime. I hesitate to refer to the past as being better, because we always strive towards progression and change for the betterment of society, but I think we just need to be bored sometimes. Put away our phones, our laptops, our TVs, everything, and just be. I’ve been trying to do this in my own life, and it has been a struggle. Two minutes in, and I’m looking at my phone, turning on the TV, and/or looking at my husband’s chair as he’s gaming. I need alone time, yet I don’t know what to do with it to recharge my batteries just yet.

I have started talking to friends and encouraging them. There is nothing inherently wrong in doing so, but it turns into waiting anxiously for the next text, trying to start another conversation, or opening another app to fill in the space between messages. I cannot sit and think for a few seconds, and it irritates me about myself. Even now, my phone is charging, I was putting something on TV to watch, but that didn’t provide enough stimulation, so I brought out my laptop to type to have something to focus on. But having too much stimulation, I can’t have the TV on, even though it is something I have watched before many times.

I was going to grocery shop today but heard it was going to rain, so I planned on taking today to finally relax and do nothing. To be bored. 

Close your eyes with me for ten seconds. 

Did you speed up the count? Did you make it to ten? Did you skip over that part entirely? What can we do if we cannot stop for ten seconds? I get that we are all busy, and I truly appreciate if you take time to read this blog to begin with! I have to ask myself if I take care of myself the way I need to. What drives the need to be busy all the time? Am I afraid of what happens if I stop?

How did it feel during those ten seconds of closing your eyes? If you didn’t do it, try it now, or again.

Your self-worth is not tied to how productive you are in all hours of the day. I’m saying that to me as well as to anyone reading this! As soon as we understand that though our financial security might be tied to our jobs, our respect as human beings should not be, especially towards ourselves, the sooner we can start treating ourselves with a little bit of dignity and maybe, just maybe, we can start taking ten seconds out of the day to say “I am worth it. I am loved. I am valuable no matter what I get accomplished today. I will do my best, and my best is all I can ask for.”

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