Staying at a spectacular
Airbnb
in Bell, California,
and I was getting bored.
So I texted the owner Nancy
for recommendations of things to do.
I was expecting her to respond with hikes
and restaurants, farmers market events activities.
But here's exactly
what Nancy texted me back.
Josh,
there's a bench
outside by the edge of the fence on
the oceans side by the big cypress.
It's nice to just sit there and watch
the surfers
and the birds.
It's a good reminder.
Boredom can be uncomfortable
we wanna do something to avoid the feeling
of doing nothing.
Whenever I see people waiting in line at
Starbucks, they're always scrolling on their phones.
It's easier now than ever to avoid being
bored.
Infinitely scrolling on social media
endless hours
of entertainment on Netflix and Spotify,
the problem.
When we rely on tech to avoid feeling
board, we undermine our sense of self as
the authors of our own lives.
If you can't put down your phone, you
don't have a phone.
The phone has you.
Nancy taught me that you don't need to
constantly seek activities to occupy yourself.
By simply sitting, and observing the surfers and
the birds, you can begin to rewire your
brain to find joy and peace in the
every day.
The switch, doing something,
to doing nothing.
Getting better at board
is an undervalued skill I am definitely
under construction in this area, but I wanna
work on it.
What about you?