Keeping boredom at arm’s length through the creative process

I guess there are times when we all suffer from boredom.
I am in a post-partum publishing state of mind. After going through a book publishing process, which takes many, many months, and seeing your book actually in the print stage and on the market, I often ask “What next?”
Oh, I’ve got some ideas, and other novels to work on. I feel like a pregnant woman who has waited nine months for delivery and when the baby is born with all the excitement it entails, the woman, in most cases, suffers post-partum depression.
We experience highs and lows, but we must be able to keep ourselves from getting too high or diving too deep into depression.
I was on cloud nine this past week as I got a lead from a friend, a friend of a friend of one of Hollywood’s top movie producers – Steven Tisch, Academy Award winner for the Forrest Gump movie. He also happens to be co-owner of the New York Giants. The friend said she would get my book into Tisch’s hands and see what develops. Friends tell me the book would make a great movie. I found out Tisch married a woman from Tuscaloosa – Jamie Alexander. They have since divorced. Tisch still has friends in Tuscaloosa.
A radio interview last week placed me on another high when the show producer – Lee Davis – of WYDE Radio 101.1FM ranked my book, The Cry of the Cuckoos, somewhere between Tom Clancy and John Grisham. It was a great compliment.
Then there was a low. I went to a book signing in Birmingham. The weather was awful. I knew on the drive up that anyone getting out in this type of gully-buster weather probably needed a special award like a Courageous Cuckoo Fan button. The bookstore signing was a bust as only a few drenched customers came through the door. They were looking for certain items or picking up books they had ordered. I went home in a stupor, went to bed. Post-partum depression.
The human mind thrives on novelty. What was once a source of pleasure can become tedious after a time. Though our lives are full, boredom lurks around every corner because we innately long for new experiences.
Yet boredom by its very nature is passive. In this idle state of mind, we may feel frustrated at our inability to channel our mental energy into productive or engaging tasks. We may even attempt to lose ourselves in purposeless or self-destructive pursuits.
While this can be a sign of depression, it can also be an invitation issued from your mind, asking you to challenge yourself.
Boredom can become the motivation that drives you to learn, explore the exotic, experiment, and harness the boundless creative energy within.
In Hindu and Buddhist traditions, boredom is perceived as a pathway to self-awareness. Boredom itself is not detrimental to the soul-it is the manner in which we respond to it that determines whether it becomes a positive or a negative influence in our lives.
When you respond by actively filling the emptiness you feel lurking in yourself, you cultivate creativity and innovation. If, when in the grip of boredom, you have difficulty acknowledging the merits of any activities you might otherwise enjoy, generate your own inspiration.
Before you find yourself beset by boredom, create a list of tasks you can consult when it feels like there is simply nothing to do. Referring to a list of topics you want to learn more about, projects you’ve yet to begin, or even pending chores can spark your creative energy and reawaken your zest for life.
When we are troubled by boredom, it is not that there is nothing to do but rather that we are not stimulated by the options before us. A bored mind can be the canvas upon which innovation is painted and the womb in which novelty is nourished. When you identify boredom as a signal that you need to test your boundaries, it can be the force that presses you to strive for opportunities you thought were beyond your reach and to indulge your desire for adventure.
We all experience periods where we feel separated from the loving ebb and flow of the universe. These times of feeling disconnected from the source may occur for many reasons, but self-sabotage is the most common cause for us choosing to cut ourselves off from the flow of the universe.
Reconnecting with the universe grounds you and is as easy as making a concerted effort to become interested in the activities you love or responding to what nurtures or stimulates you..
When you disconnect from the universe, your sense of purpose, creativity, and ability to be innovative are not as easy to access. You may also experience a deep and empty sense of longing or feel devoid of ideas or unworthy of love. It’s important, however, to recognize that being disconnected from the universe is never a permanent state, and it can be reversed any time you decide that you are ready to reconnect. When you are connected to the universe, all aspects of your being will feel alive as the flow of the universe pours through your being and into your life.

John W. Cargile, Msc.D, D.D. is a licensed pastoral psychology counselor. He is a member of the National Education Association and Alabama Education Association. He is the author of a new novel, The Cry of the Cuckoos. www.thecryofthecuckoos.com You can contact him at jwcargile@charter,net. All conversations are confidential.