Monday, February 15, 2010

The Practice of Boredom-ism


These branches are just like our lives. Tangled like crazy. Hectic. undefined. Rarely stopping to just breathe. I always feel like I must fill my time and constantly find something to do. Same with talking if no one else has something to say, I always seem to have the urge to fill the void.

But what if we didn't bother with such things. What if we allowed for a moment of silence or a moment of letting ourselves take in our surroundings. What if we didn't feel like we constantly have to be knocking stuff off of our to-do lists?

A friend gave me this book for Christmas, The Big Book Of Small Stuff by Richard Carlson, and although it's mostly filled with advice that is pretty much common sense, yet is rarely practiced ( don't criticize, stop blaming others, choose your battles wisely, etc.), but I found the section about Boredom to be one that I had never thought about.
It's about how we should 'allow ourselves to be bored,' and how it helps our mind learn to relax instead of feeling anxious all the time. I didn't realize that I do feel anxious all the time until I read this...I feel I always have to keep myself busy! I would love to learn how to really relax and let my mind be at peace ( I guess this is similar to yoga or mediation now that I think about it, except I don't think that they would say that they're being bored).
The author recommends to start by just taking even a few minutes to not do anything..then maybe even make it to an hour of allowing yourself to be bored. Just peacefully sit there and let your mind go blank... Sounds easy doesn't it? Try it. Actually it would definitely take some practice, especially if you're one of those used to running around all day, but why wouldn't you? Let your mind relax!

Who would have thought that Boredom was a good thing?

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Breath of Fresh Air and My Dilemma

Delete!

I felt it was time to have a fresh start and restart this blog that felt like it was going no where and so instead of starting a whole new blog page like most do, I felt too attached to this one to start a new one...
I started this blog on a whim last time and it just seemed to be there for no reason, so now I want to start writing in it more for myself to let out what is on my mind...to unload. Everyone should unload their thoughts every once in a while right?! And there's been so much on my mind lately. Especially since I am in my twenties and trying to decide what to do with my life! What a terrible question. One that maybe I should stop trying to answer and just do what I think is right now. But in these times when everything seems uncertain (I guess I'm referring to our economy), it seems like the most important question to ask.
Especially since it's past due for me to choose a college or university to transfer to. I need to have chosen since a long time ago but I've been stuck between choosing a path towards design because I really enjoy to sew and create things and also between a path in the sciences.
I am not too sure about which area in science exactly, hopefully one that has to do with the environment though. I need to explore this area more! A path in some Science area seems to be more promising than one in design but right now it isn't what I love, only what I like and think is right. Maybe after more research I will have more information to make my decision but so far I haven't been able to find anything super useful.
How do people decide such a thing!?