I am from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, but I currently reside in California in the United States. My favorite mundane activity is to walk around the city (sometimes with my iPod and headphones on) instead of getting around by any other means of transportation. With maybe a chore or two to address, or none. It allows me to appreciate the details around me; to reconnect. Like everything is slowed down enough that I can be present in more ways than just physically. Unfortunately, each subsequent relocation makes that less and less accessible. Walking around the city (or cities) has become less mundane and more of a treat. I often find myself longing for it.
My favorite place in Savannah, GA (where I went to college) was a tiny parking lot in the middle of town. Everyone would always ask me why THAT out of everything traditionally beautiful about the city. I couldn’t give a reason. I think this sits in the same spot the love for the mundane is in my head. For example, mowing the lawn is a taxing and tiresome task, but singing harmonies against the drone of the engine makes it beautiful.
There’s a quote from Up that has always sat with me about this. Russell, upon talking about spending time with his dad, says “That might sound boring, but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most.”
I love that your reaction to this situation was to research, and learn, and then craft a well-written insight that can help other people. I find that delightful.
Mundane things that I find delightful? Sunsets never get old. I also love nerdy bits of information, like why sunsets being red and orange and the sky being blue are caused by the same thing, specifically the probability of each wavelength of light reflecting off of molecules in the atmosphere. Who doesn't like fun facts, right?
Interesting to think that boredom and feeling trapped are two different things. I guess I've always felt that they were the same. As macabre as this probably sounds, I remember being a younger person, probably seven or so, laying on the couch in we were watching TV and being bored and wishing I could just roll off the couch onto a knife and die. So it goes.
This was a wonderful read! Funny enough, though it might be the most basic sign of “boredom”, I’ve been finding a lot of delight in a shared yawn. There is something kind of charming and sweet about it that’s been making me feel extra soft towards others.
And something I call “playground eyes”, which is now a particularly seasonal sensation, but it’s when you spend an extended period of time out in the sun and enter indoors and your vision goes all spotty and dim and your face gets a bit prickly from the sudden cool air :-)
I really enjoyed this read, I feel like I’ve been teetering constantly between boredom and over-stimulation in the last few years with a lot of difficulty finding a balance. Some mundane things that have brought me joy: the little wave people do on the freeway when you let them merge, watching slight variations in my plants from day to day, big easy parking lots at grocery stores, wearing fun clothes to try and make you happier, clean kitchen counters, spotify’s “happy mix,” when my cat sheds whiskers and they’re so clean and long and strong (she only sheds them one at. a time so it’s like finding a weird treasure), and, of course, rain smell (which is also a rarity in LA 😭)
Hey Julia, thanks for the new post. Some simple mundane things I've been delighted by recently have been the smell of cardamom, seeing the pure delight on even the most serious person's face when they see my pet dachshund (she's a mega cutie), walking up the big hill near my apartment and greeting the neighborhood cat Rocco, and iced tea.
I love this. I can relate a lot to the very last quote there. I also think that we are so used to being pushed and pulled forward by the world, in this chaotic and fast-paced society we live in, we don't even allow ourselves some idle time. We always have to be doing something. But then when we have the free time, we just don't know what to do with it. A part of us just won't let us enjoy it and will keep hammering in the back of our head with self-criticism, frustration, and thoughts like "you should be doing something". Maybe boredom is the incoherence between parts of us, who just wants to BE, and who is self-vigilant.
I love this. I can relate a lot to the very last quote there. I also think that we are so used to being pushed and pulled forward by the world, in this chaotic and fast-paced society we live in, we don't even allow ourselves some idle time. We always have to be doing something. But then when we have the free time, we just don't know what to do with it. A part of us just won't let us enjoy it and will keep hammering in the back of our head with self-criticism, frustration, and thoughts like "you should be doing something". Maybe boredom is the incoherence between parts of us, who just wants to BE, and who is self-vigilant.
Hello Julia and everyone else,
I am from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, but I currently reside in California in the United States. My favorite mundane activity is to walk around the city (sometimes with my iPod and headphones on) instead of getting around by any other means of transportation. With maybe a chore or two to address, or none. It allows me to appreciate the details around me; to reconnect. Like everything is slowed down enough that I can be present in more ways than just physically. Unfortunately, each subsequent relocation makes that less and less accessible. Walking around the city (or cities) has become less mundane and more of a treat. I often find myself longing for it.
Oscar
My favorite place in Savannah, GA (where I went to college) was a tiny parking lot in the middle of town. Everyone would always ask me why THAT out of everything traditionally beautiful about the city. I couldn’t give a reason. I think this sits in the same spot the love for the mundane is in my head. For example, mowing the lawn is a taxing and tiresome task, but singing harmonies against the drone of the engine makes it beautiful.
There’s a quote from Up that has always sat with me about this. Russell, upon talking about spending time with his dad, says “That might sound boring, but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most.”
I love that your reaction to this situation was to research, and learn, and then craft a well-written insight that can help other people. I find that delightful.
Mundane things that I find delightful? Sunsets never get old. I also love nerdy bits of information, like why sunsets being red and orange and the sky being blue are caused by the same thing, specifically the probability of each wavelength of light reflecting off of molecules in the atmosphere. Who doesn't like fun facts, right?
Interesting to think that boredom and feeling trapped are two different things. I guess I've always felt that they were the same. As macabre as this probably sounds, I remember being a younger person, probably seven or so, laying on the couch in we were watching TV and being bored and wishing I could just roll off the couch onto a knife and die. So it goes.
This was a wonderful read! Funny enough, though it might be the most basic sign of “boredom”, I’ve been finding a lot of delight in a shared yawn. There is something kind of charming and sweet about it that’s been making me feel extra soft towards others.
And something I call “playground eyes”, which is now a particularly seasonal sensation, but it’s when you spend an extended period of time out in the sun and enter indoors and your vision goes all spotty and dim and your face gets a bit prickly from the sudden cool air :-)
I really enjoyed this read, I feel like I’ve been teetering constantly between boredom and over-stimulation in the last few years with a lot of difficulty finding a balance. Some mundane things that have brought me joy: the little wave people do on the freeway when you let them merge, watching slight variations in my plants from day to day, big easy parking lots at grocery stores, wearing fun clothes to try and make you happier, clean kitchen counters, spotify’s “happy mix,” when my cat sheds whiskers and they’re so clean and long and strong (she only sheds them one at. a time so it’s like finding a weird treasure), and, of course, rain smell (which is also a rarity in LA 😭)
Hey Julia, thanks for the new post. Some simple mundane things I've been delighted by recently have been the smell of cardamom, seeing the pure delight on even the most serious person's face when they see my pet dachshund (she's a mega cutie), walking up the big hill near my apartment and greeting the neighborhood cat Rocco, and iced tea.
I love this. I can relate a lot to the very last quote there. I also think that we are so used to being pushed and pulled forward by the world, in this chaotic and fast-paced society we live in, we don't even allow ourselves some idle time. We always have to be doing something. But then when we have the free time, we just don't know what to do with it. A part of us just won't let us enjoy it and will keep hammering in the back of our head with self-criticism, frustration, and thoughts like "you should be doing something". Maybe boredom is the incoherence between parts of us, who just wants to BE, and who is self-vigilant.
I love this. I can relate a lot to the very last quote there. I also think that we are so used to being pushed and pulled forward by the world, in this chaotic and fast-paced society we live in, we don't even allow ourselves some idle time. We always have to be doing something. But then when we have the free time, we just don't know what to do with it. A part of us just won't let us enjoy it and will keep hammering in the back of our head with self-criticism, frustration, and thoughts like "you should be doing something". Maybe boredom is the incoherence between parts of us, who just wants to BE, and who is self-vigilant.