Are You Bored?
Life is a journey. What kind of journey is your life? Are you inspired, creative, and excited? Or are you bored because everything seems so routine and predictable? And finally, what makes the difference between these two experiences? It all has to do with the context that you establish for living.
There are two main ways to establish a context for life. The first way is to see life as a profound, unpredictable journey of evolution where you are divinely guided by a love that is bigger than yourself. This is the way of seeing life as a magical, mystical event that unfolds with the beauty of daily unexpected surprises. This is the way of curiosity, exploration, and feeling altogether conscious and alive! It is the way of miracles. In this context, you walk hand-in-hand with the Divine. You live a purposeful, exciting life as a co-creator with God.
The second way is to see life as a journey whereby you attempt to master the art of doing what you are supposed to do according to society and other people. Your goal is to please others and get as much positive feedback as you can. The only way you know that you are doing a good job is when other people tell you. God and the divine become compartmentalized in a way that you can control that experience and make sure that it doesn’t mess up your life. In this context, the ego is your main partner. The ego doesn’t like God’s involvement, because it’s too broad and unpredictable. The problem with the divine where the ego is concerned, is that it puts the ego out of its league altogether.
When you partner with the Divine, you are working together with a force and a love that is beyond your thinking mind. You are partnering with something that is beyond the familiar controls of society and beyond what is referred to as “the norm”. The norm simply refers to a highly controlled environment where everyone agrees that the same behavior in everybody is the ideal scenario.
The only problem with this so-called normal scenario is that each human being is unique. Every human being has his or her own unique purpose that only they can fulfill. If you adopt a rule that you have to be like everyone else, then you will be forced to sideline God, the universe, and whatever other natural, benevolent forces are here to work on your behalf. These forces are present in your life to assist you in reaching your full potential as an individual. Their goal is never to help you be like everyone else.
If you choose the path of copying whatever society and other people dictate as the norm, in order to fit in and gain the approval of others, you will not only have to sideline God and the universe, you will also have to sideline your unique, individual self. You will begin to live a life where you deny and repress. You will have to effectively corral and maybe even bury your higher self. And because your life is no longer about you, but is instead about other people, you will have taken the path of fear. You will be ruled by the fear of doing something wrong and having others disapprove of you. Life becomes a boring routine where you try to spiritually live completely on your own.
On this path of aloneness and fear, you will eventually find yourself on a downward spiral that begins with frustration and anxiety. It ends with unconsciousness and the deadening emptiness of boredom and resignation. You simply become resigned to feeling hopeless. You become resigned to your excuses. You decide that nothing can ever change for you and you learn to settle. Essentially, you give up because you think you have it all figured out.
You have now become domesticated. You are subdued and thus appropriately tamed. The excitement of true spirituality begins to wither and die. At best, you may settle for religious rituals that are as routine as driving your car to work and not remembering how you got there.
So what’s the alternative? The alternative is to open your heart to a much bigger journey that is not entirely controlled by human hands. You can recognize the potential of your life to be a journey of unpredictable, amazing evolution guided by divine Love. This is the journey of higher consciousness. This is the path of waking up to something greater than yourself and recognizing how real that something is. What can you do to open up to that incredible potentiality?
You can start by realizing that perhaps you don’t know everything there is to know about yourself. You can start by letting go of your assumptions. By the time a person reaches the level of boredom, they essentially believe that they know everything there is to know. Period. And that is precisely why they are bored! There is no more mystery to life. Life is merely a routine that’s all been figured out.
This is also how relationships die. The routine becomes so paramount, so utterly unconscious, that it is mistaken for knowledge. “I know what to do because I know what to expect” is not knowledge about yourself or another person. It’s called a rut. A comfort zone of repetitiveness. It’s a situation where both parties behave like unconscious robots and then wonder where the magic went.
The magic didn’t go anywhere. You just stopped looking. You thought you had it all figured out, so why bother? What if you were wrong? Human beings, yourself included, have an endless array of things going on inside of them. So why are you bored? Is life boring? Or are you simply holding a very boring perspective on life? I would submit that it’s the latter.
So the first thing to do is to jar yourself awake again. Stop assuming that you know everything about your life. Wake up and get conscious. Refuse to accept your own boring view. That sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Now you can be open to something greater.
Wild birds are a wonderful example of what it’s like to live an exciting, unpredictable life that is a part of something much larger than themselves. They are vital, awake, alive, and aware. You will never see a bored outdoor bird. Each bird lives in a way that it will absolutely reach its full potential as a bird, whatever that may be.
Contrast that with a domesticated bird in a cage. That bird lives an entirely organized, routine life. It knows exactly what will happen from morning to night. There is nothing sadder than watching a perfectly domesticated bird in a cage that is literally bored out of its mind with the utter predictability of its environment. Full potential for that animal will never be a known experience.
If you relate to the domesticated bird, then your cage exists in your mind. It’s what can be referred to as a closed mind to opportunity. You simply have no reason to fly because the cage door is closed. The lock on the cage door is comprised of reasons why you can’t. It’s comprised of everything you think you have figured out.
Opening the cage door is opening your heart to something greater. It’s having the humility to recognize and admit that there could be more than what you know and think you have figured out. It’s being fed up with your routine way of thinking, perceiving, and of pretending to be in total control of your reality.
Now you can let God in. You can open your tired arms to receive help of a much higher order of magnitude. This is not a religious experience. This is a spiritual experience that does not require a middle man of any kind. God does not need human organizations and brokers in order to reach you. This Infinite Presence of Love is certainly not that powerless. Religions might serve as reminders, but they can never serve as a substitute for the Real Thing.
Once you make your own personal connection to that higher power of all creation, your life can become an exciting adventure. The beauty of this is that you can trust that love and thus relish in the unpredictability of a life that is beyond your imagination. Let the amazing, personal journey of your evolution begin. Become like the wild bird who is supported by the entire universe to reach its full potential. Free yourself from the mental dullness of thinking you know everything. Open your heart and fly!
What has your experience of life been like? Have you felt bored and unfulfilled and wondered why? Or have you found the secret to an exhilarating experience? Tell me in the comments below. Or just share your thoughts in general! I’d love to hear your point of view.
Thank you! This has been helpful on one of the most boring Monday mornings EVER! Although I’ve had hundreds! I am the caged bird with the door full of excuses as to why I can’t fly out. I’ve never thought I have the answers and have never settled but I haven’t found my way either. Every single day at the job is soul destroying and whilst working on the ‘accepting’ and ‘surrendering’ the default keeps slapping me in the face – misery.
A very inspiring piece, I want fly but the fear is immense. It’s only the last couple of days I have really recognized this fear, maybe now I can start to address it 🙂 <3
Zania, your honesty and directness is SO refreshing! I think it is very empowering to be able to simply tell it like it is. So thank you!
Oftentimes society asks us to do things that go completely against our hearts and who we are as individuals. Then the message is that if we can’t be happy that way, there is something wrong with us. This is so sad, because this line of thinking does not honor the gifts and talents of the individual. Instead, this collective mindset says that we must “fix” ourselves and be better able to conform to the status-quo.
I am so grateful that you brought this up and shared this, because it is a common issue for so many. I love the way you put this: “the accepting and surrendering default keeps slapping me in the face – misery.” That is such an incredibly accurate statement for so many people. It is refreshing to hear someone like yourself just come out and say it! Most people simply suffer in quiet agony, because they believe they have to.
I think that people are very effectively conditioned to equate safety and survival with being caged. Once this belief is firmly entrenched, due to years of conditioning, we believe that slavery is freedom. I sometimes wonder if it’s a weird form of collective insanity. I’m certain that the wild birds would not equate being caged with freedom and safety. I think that wild birds feel safest when they are free to act on their own instincts. We humans, on the other hand, tend to see the freedom to develop our individual talents and rely on our own intelligent instincts as an extremely dangerous way to live. And that’s why the fear is there. We have been taught not to trust ourselves.
I hope that you will find your way out of this “soul destroying” job. Thank you for being so direct! I’m sure that your directness and honesty about your feelings will serve you well in making the necessary changes to create a fulfilling, expanding life. Sending you tons of love and angel blessings. xoxo
Saratoga, this blog is a keeper. A love letter, in essence. I always wanted to figure out what it was like to lose personal consciousness. The thing was, I was locked in this cage, blind and gradually losing “self,” in the precipitous depth of docility, while trying to figure out the reason for my boredom and sense of hopelessness. Now looking back – though still frightened to see how I escaped – I can only “breathe.”
Monica
Monica, this is such a good point about gradually losing self while being locked in a cage. To me, boredom is a very serious issue because it indicates repression and being trapped in a way that a person cannot expand and evolve. The way this happens to people is so insidious. We are effectively conditioned through the reward of approval from others to deny ourselves and fit in with the “herd”. The only problem with this is that we are highly creative, intelligent creatures. Thus, as Zania so aptly put it above, we end up in soul crushing situations.
I am so happy that you found it within yourself to wake up and escape whatever that cage was for you. Blessings and hugs! 🙂
Love your posts,.very helpfullplus I just like you.I’m not bored .I’m all over the place, scattured.ha Could you write about this? TITIA
Thank you, Titia! Well, you bring up another important point as well. Maybe I will write about that sometime – being all over the place and scattered. I think a lot of people deal with that, too. A basic lack of focus. I’ll certainly consider that topic sometime in the future. 🙂
I think this caged bird is ready to fly free. Love your posts, they are wonderful . Thank you. X
Thank you, Wendy. Yay! I hope you fly free as soon as possible. Blessings and love. <3
Thank you Saratoga for another insightful article! I am so not bored, so spiritually intuned to the higher frequencies and fighting for my independence as well as for all the animals, mammals, etc. of the world!
God bless you, my spiritual sister♡
Barbara, it sounds like you have found your purpose in life, which is the ultimate antidote for boredom. Thank you – you are so very sweet and wonderful. 🙂
This is a wonderful article. I believe I am generally living within the larger context and I feel supported in that orientation by your post. It does have me thinking about the role of routines. I find that having some daily routines is useful, and comforting to my body. On the other hand, they can easily become pockets of unconsciousness throughout the day, as I already know what I am going to do and how to do it. I think I can expand my experience of being alive by approaching routines with a new openness and awareness. For example, I haven’t done that particular routine on that particular day in the body I am today. So I can look for new experiences and awareness within the routine. Just because i know how to do something doesn’t mean that I have to be robotic about it. I can also consciously choose whether a particular routine will serve me that day or not.
Ann
Ann, I think that there is definitely a place for routines, as they can function as an organizing principle for a higher purpose. The problem occurs when all of life is just one, big, boring routine with no higher purpose at all.
There needs to be a driving, creative principle or mission in a person’s life first. Then, because you are in command of your situation and where you’re going, you can insert productive routines in order to stay focused and effective. So the issue is not with routines. It’s more about where they are placed and in what context. 🙂
My father used to remind me that every morning the sky is different … the colour, the clouds, the air … . I’ve always remembered that, and I notice mornings. Each day I open to endless possibilities. When I notice my thoughts getting in the way of being open and conscious I let them go. Some days I’m better at this than others, as my past conditioning ingrained a lot of patterns of thought and behaviour. I’ve come to recognize those quickly, consciously, and I don’t have to act on the patterns that have not supported me in my life. They feel foreign to me as I evolve, since they were someone else’s ideas of who I should be, how I should think and how I ended up responding to life. I can choose to respond to each situation that comes up in ways that are loving, calm and align with my values and beliefs.
I’m noticing more and more that I can recognize what’s old stuff holding me back, and when the river runs clear and I can flow into the potential of infinite possibility. It truly is a moment-to-moment experience for me. And the mornings that my routine includes meditation (which is becoming more effortless) it seems much easier to stay in touch with what I know to be the truth, as it unfolds.
Saratoga, you are a wonderful inspiration as your thoughts and messages help to guide me and keep me attuned to reality, which keeps me grounded and allows my true creative spirit to come through. I believe each one of us has a divine essence, unique to us as individuals and my purpose is to align with that, as the journey continues.
Thank you to everyone for all the amazing responses. Everyone’s perspective is so supportive and uplifting. I don’t usually like blogs… but this is so life affirming and fabulous!
Thank you so much, Leigh. I agree with you about everyone who shares their perspectives here. I love it that you guys all share because it evolves the topic and makes it so much more interesting!
And, yes, you make a very simple and significant point about the divine essence of each individual. That essence needs expression and an environment in which to evolve. Too bad they don’t teach that in school!
I have experienced utter boredom and I have also felt such sweet inspiration that life itself comes alive in rich and beautiful colour and experience. (Usually not at the same time.) 🙂 What I have realized lately is that the direction I am going in depends on the choices I make and the actions I take in each moment. An unconscious choice will lead in the direction of spiraling downwards. Acting on what is in my heart leads toward joy and illumination. Where we are in any given moment is the result of a series of choices and that makes each one so important.
Too many unconscious acts and it can seem difficult to even remember what inspiration felt like. That’s why I think positive routines can be incredibly valuable, such as meditation or spending time in nature. These kinds of things can really help to keep things going in the right direction. I totally agree with what Ann had to say about the value of approaching these activities in a new way as often as you can. I think it really helps them to stay effective.
“Open your heart and fly!” So beautifully said. Thank you so much! 🙂
Avalon, I like what you said about unconsciousness eclipsing inspiration. To me, it’s like putting a shadow over the sun. We go unconscious, act unconsciously with no direction, and then wonder why our experience suffers. We wonder what happened to that light of inspiration.
And, yes, as I said to Ann in my reply to her, I also agree that positive, supportive routines are a good idea. They help us to stay focused, effective, and productive.
Thanks, Avalon! 🙂
Hi Everybody! Thank you for all of your great comments. Just want you to know that I want to join the conversation as always, but I will be a little late in doing so. We’re in the final stages of my new website (Yay!) so I’m super busy with that right now. I have read all of your comments so far and will respond, just a little later than usual.
So anyone else who wants to comment, please continue! I have read them all so far and will continue to do so. I love to watch the discussion on this subject expand. Thanks again!
Love, Saratoga xxoo
Hi Saratoga,
What an amazing article – thank you! I found this so helpful.
I have let go over the years, of living as a caged bird, but definitely I know I am dealing every day with an open cage just beaconing me to come back in! The world is so seductive somehow and so many people seem to want me to be caged as they are! It takes my self love to not be seduced and for this I need to be very much always in my center. My work right now is helping very sick people and I find I must have my own time to fill up and connect with myself in order to remain in touch with my inspiration. I have to remain very strong because even this personal self care can sometimes confuse people . But it is the most nourishing thing in my whole life! I journal and meditate and reflect and connect with nature. That keeps me free, and hopefully allows me to remain free when I am helping others.
I am really moved with your comment that we are not alone and we don’t need to do this all by ourselves….this is one thing that I am beginning to embrace, and my angels have really been responding to my requests for assistance!
Thank you Saratoga!
Wow – Paddy, that is so interesting that your own self-care would confuse people. Particularly when you spend so much time helping others. This makes the point again about why it is so important to be the captain of your own ship. There are a lot of desperate people who don’t have the centeredness and consciousness to understand that you must take care of yourself in order to be of value to others.
I also like what you said about the cage being so seductive. Yet, it’s an erroneous seduction because it is based on fear. It’s the intimidation factor at work. It’s like someone beckoning you back into the cage with some food and saying “Don’t you want to come back in here and be fed by someone else again?” Of course what you will sacrifice for that “free food” is never mentioned, right? You’re not supposed to think about that.
Say, isn’t that a common way to trap wild animals? You know, put some tasty food in a cage and hope that the animal will go for the food and not notice the cage. Then once it’s in the cage, slam the door shut and mission accomplished!
Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your patience. Sorry I was so late in replying to your comments. What an interesting conversation this is. 🙂
So I just remembered a story that I read a long time ago that I want to share with you. It’s actually a little chilling, but it certainly makes the point. I may not remember all the details correctly, but you’ll get the gist anyway.
Apparently back in the early decades of the 20th century, someone interviewed a wealthy industrialist (they wouldn’t say who) and learned the following: (This is supposedly a true story)
So this wealthy industrialist had an amazing zoo in some part of the world where he had captured a bunch of exotic, wild animals that no one else had been able to capture very easily, if at all. He was asked the question, “How did you manage to capture such an amazing assortment of incredible wild animals for this zoo? No one else has ever been able to do anything like this.”
The man described his method. He said, “Every day I had people go out to the area where these animals tend to feed. I had my people put food for these animals out in the open where the animals could easily find it and eat it. I had them do this everyday until the animals predictably came to get their food each day.
Once the animals were in the habit of getting this free food every day, I instructed my people to slowly start building a fence. I had them only put up one small portion of the fence at a time, and then wait until the animals got used to seeing it. Once they got used to it, the animals would continue coming to get the food and ignore that small piece of fencing.
This went on for many weeks, as I slowly built the fence, piece by piece. Eventually, the entire area was surrounded by fencing with only one opening for a gate. The animals dutifully arrived through the gate every day to eat, not even noticing the fencing that surrounded them because they had gotten used to it. Once they were all inside the caged area, I shut the gate and I had them.”
The interviewer said, “That’s amazing! Where did you learn to do this?”
The wealthy man answered, “It was easy. I do it with human beings every day.”
Wow!!!
Hi Saratoga; What a wonderful article. I’m the caged bird standing in the open doorway yet still afraid to take the leap to freedom.
I have a rich spiritual life through meditation and sometimes feel so close to God and the angels and the promise of freedom through service. Yet there is something preventing this from being translated to fully embracing and enacting my purpose on a daily basis.
A recent example of my fear of bucking the status quo and inability to follow my heart is a situation at work. They just fired a salesman for doing real estate on the side. They discovered his ad on Linkedin and felt it interfered with him doing his job effectively. I have a facebook page that is linked with my healing business and I have been reluctant to activate all my friend requests as I am afraid of going too public and risking the chance of being noticed by the owners of the company I work for. I would be doing my healing at night and on weekends outside of work hours but so did this salesperson that they fired. Technically we are to be available at nights and on weekends if there is an emergency with one of our clients. The likelihood of this is extremely rare.
Anyway I was on the verge of taking down my facebook page out of fear of losing my job. Yet if I do this I am giving in to the same fear that has masqueraded in all the other excuses for not taking the leap. The thought of continuing to succumb to the status quo is just too boring.
I am poised for takeoff!
Love, Doug