Can boredom activate abundance?

I am someone who took pride in keeping myself "busy".

All the stories I have been told pointed me to it.

These words ring in my ear to this day...

👉​ "An idle mind is a devil's workshop"

👉​ "The opposite of happiness is not sadness. It's boredom"

👉​ "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it."

👉​ "Boredom is only for people with no imagination"

👉​ "Boredom is nothing but the experience of a paralysis of our productive powers."

🤩​ With years of diligence and practice, I have gotten really good at being "productive" every waking minute of my day. It has served me well.

And so whenever I used to see someone just 'laying there', my judgment was quick to kick in. I would think (and sometimes even say)...

👩🏾‍⚖️​ "What a waste of time! Get up and do something!" 👩🏾‍⚖️​

Over the years, as the pace of the world has accelerated, I have found myself "doing" my "somethings" faster in order to keep up. The faster I moved, the faster the world moved.

I found myself saying things like,

😳 "I need more hours in the day."

😩​ "Where did the time go?"

🥴 "I wish I had more time."

Often, it would leave me metaphorically breathless and impatient.

Until I read a newsletter from my friend Jay Malone (New Haircut), whose work and ideas I admire. He talked about sitting in15 minutes of boredom during his refresh and renew weeks.

15 minutes of doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!

Intrigued, I decided to give it a try for a few Sundays in a row.

15 minutes of doing NOTHING was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. Those 15 minutes were the LONGEST 15 minutes I have ever experienced.

But here is what I noticed...

🤗​ The week that followed felt abundant!

I was able to do all the things I could do before AND other things I wished I had time for - like taking a leisurely walk, reading a book, watching a show, and slow cooking dinner without feeling breathless or impatient. I had more TIME!

I am curious if my hypothesis that 'Boredom can activate abundance' will be validated by others. In any case, I am going to make it part of my routine.