Go Ahead and Get Bored.

Leave busy behind and get bored. 
You’ll hate it at first, but the hate will turn into love.
Go ahead.
Flip the switch and turn off the screens and sit with the world.
Leave your phone in the other room and shut the door. 
It’s important that you shut the door.
Give your eyes a rest and empty your hands and let yourself get a taste of your childhood.
Boredom tastes like frustration and hope and handfuls of Goldfish Crackers.
You’ll walk in circles and reach for your phone, but it’s in the other room.
Grab a book.
Draw a picture.
Sit with the thoughts you’ve been pushing away.
Soon, clarity and vividness will find you.
Your imagination will wake and wander.
Your breathing will slow and your mind will loosen.
You’ll think you’re on drugs.
You aren’t.
You’re off them.
What damage distraction has done.
But how beautiful it is to give yourself a new lease on life. 
In this, you’ll find rest and patience and what more could we ask for?
Go ahead.
Get bored.

About the Author

Tanner Olson is an author, poet, speaker, and podcaster living in Nashville, Tennessee.

He is the author of I’m All Over the Place, As You Go, Walk A Little Slower, and Continue: Poems and Prayers of Hope.

You can find Tanner Olson’s books on Amazon.

His podcast is The Walk A Little Slower Podcast with Tanner Olson and can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.

Tanner Olson travels around the country sharing poetry, telling stories, and delivering messages of hope.

You can follow Tanner Olson on Instagram (@writtentospeak) and Facebook where you’ll daily find encouraging words of faith and hope.