Poetry from the Cabin 01/13/2024

Rest is not just wasting time as many have come to believe. Filling our minds with useless information while binge watching tv or scrolling social media, is not rest. To really enter into rest we need to allow our minds to be unentertained.

Here at the cabin I have been fasting from tv, social media, and even reading less than usual. I have been learning for the last year the art of enjoying boredom. Simply sitting, undistracted from the moment. Now when I go even a few days or a week without creating empty space I am learning to recognize that my mind is no longer in a healthy space. Creativity grinds to a halt and I get caught up in simply doing.

I regularly talk to people who feel stuck. They hate working, but it’s all they know how to do. When they get home they soothe their frustration with entertainment. Rather than facing the thoughts of their quiet mind they surround themselves with noise. They are afraid to rest. Resting revitalizes our whole being, releasing creativity and joy into everyday tasks. Sitting in boredom long enough recenters our mind around what is really important. We get our head screwed on straight and each task falls into its proper place of importance.

The art of resting,
is really interesting
So stop your questing
In lieu of acquiescing

First is your condition
So give yourself permission
To stop acquisition
Here is your mission

Be quiet and sit still
It takes a force of will
Seriously just chill
Till you’ve topped boredom hill

Keep off entertainment
Creativities containment
It’s not to make a statement
Just gaze beyond the casement

When you’ve topped boredoms height
Now the landscape opens wide
Opened up before mind’s eye
See the truth of daily life

So now you sit and ponder
And allow your mind to wonder
Into the great blue yonder
A place oft full of grandeur

In these God given days
To Him be all the praise
We gaze beyond the haze
Of busyness and haste

And once you’ve sat and waited
A draught of boredom drained
A pressure starts to strain
At the right side of your brain

Creativity then whispers
You remember how you’ve missed her
Now led out of the desert
And back into green pastures