Opposite of Boredom

            Lately I have had several people tell me they are bored. It was always different circumstances, and they were a range of ages. When I asked them what they did for hobbies, or for fun, they were all able to give me several things that they did.

            Several days have passed now and it just dawned on me that they were not really bored, they were just unhappy with the time it was taking them to accomplish certain things in their lives.

            Most of us think of “bored” as having a lack of things to do. Or at least I will say that has always been the definition I have heard. Here is just one example I pulled off a Google search. “Feeling weary because one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one's current activity.”

            I guess that might explain my sometimes overwhelming number of things I like to do. If I find that I don’t feel like working on one thing, I can move on to something else for a bit. Or change directions completely. Going from wood working to blacksmithing, or writing to carving a golf ball. Sometimes I even fall off the deep end and spend time reading a book.

Slabs in the process of becoming wall sculptures or clocks. 

            Because I’m a “list” person I have white boards in my shop with sectioned off lists of various projects that I “want” to do along with a few I “need” to get done. When I find that I’m unhappy with what I’m doing I look at something on the list that required a change in direction from what I’m doing, and start down that path.

My "Bassinet" bowl made from a Walnut limb.

            The down side to that is I have many projects that are in various stages of completion. My project this weekend was to clean up my shop, make the “flat surfaces” flat again and take inventory of the projects that are near completion so I can work them into the schedule soon and get them off the list they are on… Some it will only take a few minutes of dedicated work; others will take several weeks of working on them after my “day job” at Llama Hardware.

            Oh, and Christmas is coming up, that adds a whole new list of projects that will need finished up in time to ship to family and friends… Yep, I can feel boredom coming up Real fast!