Boredom. It  is my least tolerable of emotions. Even anger and frustration seem easier. In fact, I often shift boredom into one of these emotions just to relieve the feel of it.

Why is boredom so intolerable? Is it because it feels like such a waste of the day? That there is something “out there” amazing and great, and I am not taking part in it.  Is it because what I am right now is not enough? That I must do something to prove I am enough. That I need excitement to prove that life is valuable.

What would it look like if I fully embraced boredom? Wouldn’t it be great just to sit and not feel the need to do anything? Isn’t this what contentment feels like?

“Boredom: The desire for desires.”

~Leo Tolstoy

Oh, yes, anger.  The emotion you’re not supposed to have.  Growing up I always felt it was wrong to get angry. That nice girls put on nice faces and use nice words. While I definitely think we should strive to be loving and grateful toward others, I also think anger has its place.

I have been learning more about the mindfulness approach to emotions, and it has been very helpful for me. Instead of judging an emotion like anger as bad and tying to shove it out of the way, I just acknowledge its presence and the reactions it is causing in me. I notice my breath becoming labored, and my pulse becoming faster. Here’s the important thing to mindfulness — don’t intellectualize the emotion, just feel it.

It is important to feel our feelings and not to push away an uncomfortable feeling when it arises. Honestly, the harder you push away an emotion, the deeper it becomes lodged inside you only to resurface later in your relationships or your health. There is so much talk about releasing our unwanted emotions, as if we could hit an eject button and they would fly away. I believe the way to release them is by moving through them. We release by feeling completely, with acceptance toward ourselves and all our varied emotions.

For more info on mindfulness: Mindfulness of Emotions by Insight Meditation Center

Most women have not even been able to touch this anger, except to drive it inward like a rusted nail.
Adrienne Rich

I am grateful for the present moment. When you untangle your mind from the concerns of twenty minutes ago and the lists of what you have to do tomorrow, the present moment offers such opportunity and peace. When you look closely at the colors and patterns of life happening right in front of you, then simple things like the texture of a dish sponge are miraculous.

Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.” Thich Nhat Hanh

When we yield to discouragement it is usually because we give too much thought to the past and to the future.
St. Therese of Lisieux