Sometimes it is a good thing to cut some friends loose. If they are causing you mental or physical harm, walk away. If they are keeping you from your potential, it may be time after thought and prayer, to leave them behind.
But some friends are good at some times and should be left behind at others. Lady Boredom is, at times, one of the people you really want in your life. But she has her problems. She over indulges and if you join her and become an enabler, she can begin to have a negative effect your life too. So at times, when she is well, have her around. She is wise beyond her years and has much, much to offer. But when she is on one of her binges, leave her alone. She doesn’t really want help. And as you and I both know, if someone doesn’t want help, you can’t help them. Let her go through her binge but let her know that when she is ready to be a friend again, you will be there.
It is said that most evil in the world comes about because a person cannot sit in a chair for five minutes and just breath. It is Okay to be idle from time to time. The ability to be idle makes those times when you must be idle (the doctor will be with you in a minute) bearable and without leading to you getting into trouble. (I wonder what the doctor keeps in this drawer?)
Sometimes, in concert with her cousin, Lady Loneliness, she provides the strength that comes from introspection, meditation, contemplation. She helps temper anger, self centeredness, and anxiety. Oh, I will admit it can be difficult to be in her company. Sometimes I find I must take deep breaths (that come across as heavy sighs) and at times it is difficult for me to forgive her for those times she is not so kind. This leads to avoiding her. But when she is her sane, beautiful self, I come away surprisingly refreshed - or at least not as irritated as I could be.
When she is off her meds however . . . there is nobody that I want to be away from more. When all that she wants to do is binge watch “Breaking Bad” and eat chips, or sleep all day, or look for some mischief in which to engage, she is just awful. Even then though, sometimes, there is something to learn. When I am bored and willing to entertain her more destructive side, that means I am not using my potential. There is unused capabilities at work and I need to do something constructive about it. I may not have realized it if not for her.
She also likes to point out things that nobody else is paying attention to. Everybody is looking at the shiny bobble she is looking at the dripping pipe behind the toilet. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Look at this shiny bobble.” If we hung more with her, we would have caught a problem before it became a more pressing concern than any shiny bobble could be.
So don’t be afraid of her. She is a worthwhile friend. Just be careful. Everybody has their problems.
1 comment:
My grandchildren (ages 4 1/2 and 6) poke at each other when they are bored (i.e., have nothing meaningful to do). Once, when I pointed out the problem to them, they rather quickly found something constructive to do. I was amazed.
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