Month: February 2022

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Boredom: A path to creativity?

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Boredom is your imagination calling to you

Sherry Turkle

Bored. That uncomfortable sensation of inertia combined with an undertone of leg jiggling anxiousness. I recognize the sensation but struggle to grasp the words to define it. My inner voice tells me to just shake it off, haunted by a long past memory of my mother’s melodic voice, sort of teasing, sort of chastising, telling me that I have “ants in my pants” and that I just need to go find something to do.

But that seems near impossible during those interminable dragging moments when everything is tainted by the drab beige colour named, “bored”.

Is it this particular point in the long Canadian prairie winter where it is cold beyond belief that induces this sensation? Or life circumstances beyond one’s control that find us slipping into that place of doing things by rote and routine. Whatever the driver to this particularly hellish place, most of us do whatever is necessary to escape it.

While being bored is an uncomfortable emotional state for most of us, it does have a silver lining. Research show that tasks that would meet the criteria as “boring” or “mundane” often cause a cognitive shift from lack of stimulation. This place that most of us either try to avoid or struggle with provides a unique opportunity for our imagination room to play, grow, and expand.

Children who are bored seem more easily able to launch themselves over this hurdle than adults. Most parents have endured that grating whine about being bored only to discover that their children have solved the boredom problem quietly on their own by engaging in some manner with their creative impulses.

Maybe adults lose their play touchstones as they grow older or maybe the sheer number of activities that seem like dreary tasks on a never ending to do list thwart our creative, joyful inclinations. And the more of these tasks we have to complete, the further away we move from that place where play and creativity can be launched.

Some of us are fortunate enough to find solace in daydreams that spur on our creative energies. Others are able to parlay the boredom state to a place where they create art, music, photography or to write. Neil Gaiman said, “You have to let yourself get so bored that your mind has nothing better to do than tell itself a story.”

So the next time you feel bored pay attention to where your mind wanders and see if the state of boredom recedes into the background and creativity emerges to take its place.

Thankfully, studies show that most of us can’t stay in the boredom state for long periods of time. Finding the patience to use those times when we are so bored we can’t stand it may lead us to a place where we are able to find and embrace our creativity that we thought was far away and out of reach.

Stay healthy and safe!

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Maybe it’s time to take a break…

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A break is never a waste of time

Lynn Zubernis

It would likely be a safe guess that the majority of Canadians have been paying close attention to the events unfolding in our nation’s capitol and the protests along several border crossings across our country. The Freedom Truckers Convoy, ironically named because at this point they are now infringing on the rights and freedoms of people across Canada, are demanding that all pandemic public health mandates and measures end. Full stop.

With semi-truck horns blaring 24 hours a day, the smell of diesel fumes choking the citizens who live in the area they have occupied, and offensive signs and actions recorded by television cameras for perpetuity, there seems to be no end to this incredulous display of anger and disrespect. As this drama has unfolded, it is apparent that anyone who had an axe to grind and lots of time to go do it, now feels compelled to pontificate and shout disinformation at anyone who happens to pass by.

Politicians of right wing political stripes were the first to wind up their pandemic guidelines in an effort not to be caught on the wrong side of this simple minded debate. So much for protecting the vulnerable, following the science of public health officials, and supporting our beleaguered health care workers. The vast majority of people in this country have done everything they could do stem the tide of the pandemic in their communities and now it seems too matter little.

Certainly most of us are beyond weary of the pandemic and all that it has brought to our daily lives. But the current chaos being played out across our country in the name of “freedom” is beyond the pale. While politicians declare states of emergency, and then argue and debate whether it is or isn’t a crisis, the protestors become more entrenched with an under current of violence now rippling through this sea of discontent.

It hurts my heart to watch or listen to this corrosive narrative. So it seems the best way to move forward through all of this, is to simply pause, breathe, care for those you love, turn off the news and enjoy a well earned break.

Stay safe and healthy!

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And around we go again…

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Why is propaganda so much more successful when it stirs up hatred than when it tries to stir up friendly feeling?

Bertrand Russell

Today was a kind of watershed moment in the pandemic. Our provincial government has decided to ignore science, forgo public health measures, and to leave its citizens in the dark as to the risks posed by Covid 19 either now or in the foreseeable future. Enamoured by populism and a desire to put economic priorities first, a brazen and dangerous group of politicians are leading our community back to the place where we will pretend that the pandemic is over.

Even though we have been in this exact same spot six months ago, there is something about this time that seems both strange and surreal.

Amidst the blaring of semi-truck horns and angry anti vaccine crowds, the stage is set for drastic changes. Perhaps it is the backdrop of our nation’s capital being under siege by protestors who want all Covid restrictions eradicated that emboldens other like minded politicians across the country.

With no real plan for global vaccine equity and an astonishing active case count with record hospitalizations where I live, it makes little sense to rush to the goal line while we are still playing the game. So much has been lost over the past two years.

Gone are the days of working together for the greater good. Gone are the days of placing even a modicum of trust in government. And gone are the days of being able to count on a public health care system that has served the needs of my family for years.

The silent majority, those individuals who have followed public health guidelines to keep both themselves and their loved ones safe have been left in the dust. But at what cost has that silence come? What would the world be like if the silent majority – those people who are respectful of others, follow the rules, work to support the vulnerable in our society, decided to collectively give voice to their concerns.

Imagine if this larger segment of society spoke out in meaningful ways, loudly and proudly. Would we see the tail end of this dangerous political machine that disrupts our ability to live together peacefully and work collectively to end this pandemic?

Let’s try it – we have come full circle and reached an end point with no return. Close the door on harmful populist rhetoric that pontificates about individual freedoms which is simply code for “my needs come first no matter what”. Finish this chapter of poorly written policies uttered in willful ignorance and open a new one.

A new chapter that cares about people, that is truly inclusive, to keep everyone safe and healthy. These dark moments deserve to be relegated to the past, simply a bitter footnote best left forgiven but not forgotten. Let’s hope our days of moving in circles are soon over.

Stay safe and healthy!

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What to do when you don’t feel like writing

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There are two of you – one who wants to write and one who doesn’t. The one who wants to write better keep tricking the one who doesn’t.

Maria Irene Fornes

We all experience those moments – where something we love to do, like writing or creating art, feels overwhelming, or lacks that wondrous sparkle, or we are simply buried by the minutia of life’s responsibilities and obligations. So we park our creativity on a shelf. Thinking we will return to our dreams in just a moment or when things simmer down in our lives.

But the reality is that the risk of never moving forward with our artistic aspirations or creative goals becomes incrementally higher until it is something we can no longer surmount.

Letting the part of ourselves that just doesn’t feel like writing take over can be a subtle and insidious process. And once we arrive at that place, it becomes a destination. That is hard to get away from.

So putting one foot in front of the other, or the pen to the page and going through the motions may be likened to exercise. The more frequently you do it, the stronger the “muscle memory” you will be able to call upon during those times when you just don’t feel it.

We all have days when creating a piece of art in any form is just not within the realm of possibility. But the trick is to make that the exception rather than the rule. Learning to take small steps and just do one thing that contributes to your craft will keep you moving forward and strike a note of manageability at the same time.

So even when life places more demands on you than expected or you simply don’t feel emotionally able to write a word, if we are just able to focus on the simple act of writing anything at all, or any activity that supports your writing goals, then we haven’t given up, we are just managing our own expectations.

Then when the time is right, you are able to resume your practice without having to scale those mountains of self-recrimination, shame and blame which may keep us from experiencing the joy of our artistic practice as a writer.

Stay healthy and safe and happy writing!