Slow Living
Disclaimer : This article has no intention of encouraging all the couch potatoes out there.
In 2015, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley asked 90 students to look at a 60 metre tall eucalyptus tree for one minute.
After, the subjects reported feeling less self-centred, and they behaved more generously when given the chance to help someone.
All it took was a minute of stillness.
We have become so attuned to being busy all of the time that it has become almost impossible for us to do nothing.
Technology has left no stone unturned to keep us entertained; somewhere along the way, we forgot how to relax and treasure the quiet moments of nothingness.
In the era of Netflix and endless scrolling, surrounded by abundance of distractions, we rarely allow ourselves the space to be bored — to be free — to simply try something new.
Don’t mistake this for an argument in favour of indolence or sloth. The problem is not doing too little — it is doing too much, all the time.
In an overstimulated world, even a brief moment of boredom begins to feel uncomfortable. Almost threatening.
The more busy we keep ourselves, the more busy we need to be to feel satisfied.
Some say life has to be extraordinary to be amazing.
But perhaps the mark of a calm person is the ability to sit with monotony — without restlessness.
Most of us feel discouraged, even miserable, on days when nothing particularly exciting happens. In the absence of constant stimulation, we grow uncomfortable with ourselves.
And so, we fill the silence.
We overcommit. We overconsume. We bite off more than we can chew — just to stay occupied.
Much of today’s fleeting distractions stem from our inability to sit with ennui.
We avoid boredom because it forces us into self-reflection.
When we are idle, we come face to face with our deepest thoughts — and that can be daunting. It may surface fears, insecurities, questions we have long avoided.
So we escape.
We become addicted to anything that numbs the stillness.
But in doing so, we risk missing something essential.
The chance to discover what truly matters to us.
“Boredom is the unpleasant calm that precedes creative acts.”
We are surrounded by so many things to do that we no longer have time to do what we are meant to do.
We forget the art of solitude.
We underestimate how boredom gives birth to ideas.
We fail to realise how much we are capable of — if only we allow our minds to wander.
Newton was sitting idle when he discovered gravity.
And sometimes, even something as simple as a quiet moment can begin something meaningful.
People often become more creative, more thoughtful, more alive — when they allow themselves the space to get bored.
The mind travels to places it otherwise never would.
And perhaps, a day or two of boredom is not emptiness — but revelation.
The secret to a content life may lie in mastering the distance between the extraordinary and the ordinary.
In learning to find peace not just in excitement — but in stillness.
For those with emotional depth, it becomes essential to pause.
To step away from the constant noise.
To simply be — quiet, present, alone.
Because in that stillness, we begin to understand ourselves.
Our purpose.
Our direction.
And who knows — perhaps even create something timeless.
“And now we will count to twelve, and we will all keep still.”
— Inspired by Pablo Neruda, Keeping Quiet
