Are You Bored?
Boredom comes when we have spare time and there is nothing to do. Boredom comes when we are unable to enjoy and appreciate solitude. Boredom comes when we can’t stand our own company and want to escape from ourselves.
The greatest tragedy of anybody’s life is that one can’t stand one’s own company. And then one wants to impose this bored entity on others for the sake of company!! Facing one’s own self is the biggest problem. We get bored when we get stuck with ourselves. The more and more we escape from ourselves, the less and less becomes our capacity to appreciate or enjoy the “isness” / “beingness”.
Our life is regimented and compartmentalized into professional life, family life, social life, recreation, entertainment, etc. All these have specific time period during the day. They can’t be mixed up. Each of these will have specific time and place where it is lived. They are not seamless. There is no single activity that will connect everything with everything at all times and places, twenty-four hours, every moment. Therefore, there is boredom.
“Language has created the word boredom and loneliness to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word solitude to express the glory of being alone.” – Paul Tillich
There is only one activity which is twenty-four hours full time job, which connects everything with everything, which connects all facets of our lives seamlessly and that is spirituality. Spirituality is not a part-time job. It is a twenty-four hours full time job.
When we have the highest attainment as the ultimate goal of life, which is a life-long activity, then spirituality expresses in and through every activity as well as in the absence of any activity. It expresses in the company of others as well when we are in solitude. Then sitting in silence alone is not boredom. Then every opportunity to be alone is utilized for the study of who we are in Reality, not what we think we are, and reflecting, contemplating and meditating on It. It gives such a tremendous joy that we start enjoying our solitude more and more. The more we are in solitude, the more we are closer to our Real Self, which is of the nature of Absolute, Infinite and Eternal Bliss. Then there is no question of any boredom.
All so called happiness, joys or pleasures of this world are ephemeral and illusory. They can never give permanent happiness and therefore we eventually get either miserable or bored. Moreover, for such fleeting, momentary joy or happiness we need to depend on several external factors like, place, time, objects, people, relationships, situation, circumstances, conditions, etc., apart from investments in terms of time, effort and money. Any kind of dependency is a cause of bondage and any kind of bondage is cause of misery.
Don’t depend too much on anything or anyone in this world. Even your shadow leaves you when you are in darkness.
On the other hand, our own Real Self is the source of Infinite, Eternal Bliss. This bliss is independent of external factors. The ultimate goal of life is to be aware of our own Real Self and the best thing is that the journey itself is such a joy. The more and more we get closer to our Real Self, more and more becomes our capacity to appreciate or enjoy the “isness” / “beingness”.
