Can “Wow” Be Found in Boredom?

I first met sound alchemist Salem Belladonna last year in Fearless Mastery, a coaching program offered by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits. When I entered Fearless Mastery, I’d recently become a widow. I was bucking the word, and all I thought it meant.

Salem and I met in person four months into the program at a Fearless retreat in Boone, N.C. It sounds dramatic, but she changed how I look at myself and my life.

On the retreat, we did an exercise where you look directly into someone’s eyes, holding each other’s gaze for what feels like forever. I was partnered with Salem. As we stared at each other, the uncomfortableness of the moment slipped away. Suddenly, the word “survivor” bubbled up inside of me. “You’re not a widow; you’re a survivor,” a voice inside me said. I started to cry.

Recently, Salem appeared on Leo’s Zen Habits Podcast. She discussed alchemy, the act of transforming one thing into another. Salem teaches people how to use alchemy in their personal and professional lives and says it can even produce an immediate transformation.

One example is boredom–something we often seek to escape. To avoid being bored, we grab our phones to scroll social media, tune out by tuning into television, or numb with alcohol or drugs. We believe boredom is bad. But Salem asks, what if you reframe boredom as serenity? What if you lean into it instead of run from it?

Could boredom be a wow moment? A chance to remove the distractions of daily life and sit in the wonder of stillness?

I’ve been wrapped in a blanket of busy since my father died. When you settle someone’s estate, there is a seemingly endless list of things to do. I’d finally reached a moment where I felt I could catch my breath. Instead of feeling a wave of relaxation, I felt restless, searching for things to fill my new-found time.

On the day I listened to Leo’s conversation with Salem, a storm caused a power outage. The internet was down, so I immediately reached for a book. But then I caught myself and wondered, what if I sat in stillness?

The thought made me uncomfortable. It sounds silly, right? Yet, my productivity-loving self felt that I should do something. Next, I thought, what does stillness even look like? What do you actually do when you’re still?

Well, you turn inward. I listened to my breath and gazed at the peace lily in my living room. I admired its deep green leaves and thought of the person who sent me the beautiful plant last year. And that’s when I saw one of its leaves move. It had been a couple of days since I’d given it water, and the stems were slowly starting to droop.

It occurred to me that I always notice when the plant becomes full and vibrant a few hours after being watered, but I never witnessed its actual movement.

When you’re still, you open the door to the amazing life that is happening around you — the life that you are likely too busy to witness. Boredom can definitely be a wow moment if you’re willing to lean in.