The blessing of boredom

the blessing of boredom // a thousand threads
I’ve found it harder than usual to put pen to paper these past few months, and I’m not so sure it’s writers’ block as much as pure, unadulterated exhaustion. I’ve been scrambling for some time now. Scrambling to do it all, to make it all happen… to get to a place of rest.

When I finally found that place, I thought the inspiration would flow… finally, the spigot would be freed and we’d all be just a little bit more excited to read what came out of it. Instead, I found the opposite. A brain so tired, so ready to give in…

I must’ve watched a million hours of television over holiday break. Melting a little further into the couch cushions with each passing day.

But at some point along the way, amidst the atrophy and the empty cupboards, I found the quiet.

And I’ll admit, I hate the quiet. I hate to be in the house on a gloomy day with nothing but the sound of the rain and the wheels on the road outside… I hate to leave that house even more, preferring something of an agoraphobic-light winterized version of myself… under the covers, snacking on sad animal crackers meant to have been saved for Austin while binge-watching Mind of a Chef.

But if I can overcome that lonely sloth that lives inside me, eventually I can force myself to face the quiet… and the quiet is where the creativity lives.

We hear nearly every day how our generation is over-burdened by technology. Too much stimulation sucking up the few cells we had left after the pot and the whip-its took their toll… and most of the time I’ll fight for that damn iPhone, because we’re codependent, you see.

I really don’t remember how we found our way anywhere in the age of maps, and a recent experience in Dublin proves we (I, most of all…) can’t go back.

But in the quiet… in the time of the ticking clock and the clicking keys… when I can hear myself think and breathe and be…

I realize just how much I miss the time in between.

the blessing of boredom // a thousand threads
Being bored is a blessing. We work and press and move on to the next moment until we’ve scratched our fingers to the bone… and then we pat ourselves on the back. Because look at what we’ve accomplished. But look at how much more we might’ve accomplished if we took just a few moments out of each of those working days to let ourselves be uncomfortable in the quiet.

… to let the boredom creep in.

Not during savasana, not while we drive in the car, but in otherwise perfectly usable moments.

Who knows what inspiration might come our way.

There is nothing in the world more satisfying than the moment boredom leads to breakthrough, so in 2015, I suppose my biggest goal – of many goals we’ve set for ourselves – is to allow more time for rest, for experimentation, for boredom and creativity alike. We spent 2014 on the run, and we accomplished more than we could’ve imagined. But looking back, much of that accomplishment felt rushed.

the blessing of boredom // a thousand threads
Though some of our best work to date occurred along the way, it felt sporadic and stunted… with not enough process and plan to allow us to grow and improve with each creation.

This year I want to embrace slow blogging. I want to create our best work ever. And I want to walk away feeling as if we’ve solidified our voice… pressing publish only on that which we are truly proud of, not that we’re in a hurry to get up and out.

You might’ve already come to expect it, but this means the schedule has shifted. In the new normal (at least as long as we can stay this disciplined!) you can expect to hear from us on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We’ll be experimenting with an amalgamation of real posts + Friday links to keep them in the mix – and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the new format – and just generally be sharing only that which we truly feel you might enjoy.

We’ll also be taking our work to places it’s never been before, with a redesign, a refocus, and an expansion of the work we do.

2015 will, no doubt, be a big year, as big and bigger than 2014… but I don’t want to watch it pass us by. This is the year of less is more, of focus and intent… and I have a feeling it’s one we’re going to want to remember.

Photos: A few shots of one of our Dough Uprising cranberry pies from over the break.

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