{"id":80129,"date":"2018-03-21T02:29:18","date_gmt":"2018-03-21T09:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=80129"},"modified":"2018-03-21T02:30:06","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T09:30:06","slug":"life-is-too-short-to-be-bored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/03\/21\/life-is-too-short-to-be-bored\/","title":{"rendered":"Life is Too Short to Be Bored!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Selfie
Selfie in the mirror with Cindy at conveyer belt sushi. Osaka, 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To me, I think the opposite of happiness is boredom. To be happy, simply avoid being bored.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Alleviate your boredom in a meaningful and creative way!<\/h2>\n
\"ERIC
ERIC KIM Cartoon with camera \/\/ from ZEN OF ERIC<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is my idea:<\/p>\n

\n Whenever you feel bored, seek to alleviate your boredom as quickly as possible.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To be clear, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean to say to fill up your day simply watching Netflix, playing games, or distracting yourself on social media or the internet.<\/p>\n

Rather, I think the best way to alleviate boredom is to challenge ourselves, to do something creative, to make something, to read difficult books, to workout our muscles, or to workout our minds.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To me, boredom is the lack of challenge, danger, novelty, randomness, chance, and difficulty in our lives. To me, boredom is the worst evil \u00e2\u20ac\u201d far worse than suffering, pain, or despair.<\/p>\n

I would rather be suffering and in pain, rather than be bored.<\/p>\n

\"Zen
Zen aesthetics. Kyoto, 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Boredom is the worst existential dread \u00e2\u20ac\u201dyou lose all zest for living and life, and you want to just kill time, to distract yourself, and take away that horrible beast of ennui. I think boredom is the worst modern suffering. I think this is why many of us moderns try to alleviate boredom by \u00e2\u20ac\u0153distracting ourselves to death\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d through mindless entertainment, games, sex, drugs, alcohol, and other forms of passive self-medication.<\/p>\n

\"Kyoto
Kyoto Zen temple, 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What I think we desire as humans is to work on difficult, challenging, fun, creative, and meaningful things.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In practical terms, alleviate your boredom by seeking more difficult challenges in your life.<\/p>\n

At the gym, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do the same boring exercise and pointless repetitions. Do challenging (and fun) movements, like heavy 1-rep max deadlifts<\/a>, squats, or heavy dumbbell presses.<\/p>\n

Or join exercise classes which are actually fun to you \u00e2\u20ac\u201d which allow you to dance, roll around on the ground like a child, and movements you actually enjoy. Exercise which is boring, monotonous, and not fun is like slavery.<\/p>\n

\"\"
“Artist Eric” by Annette Kim from “Zen of Eric” Visualization<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a photographer, make photos that are fun for you, and photos you enjoy shooting. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t put unnecesssry pressure on yourself to make the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best photos, and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like you must upload all your photos. Make photos for yourself for the sake of making photos<\/a>, and allow yourself to be a bit silly when taking photos.<\/p>\n

\n THE ZEN OF ERIC<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

How to alleviate boredom in a creative way<\/h2>\n
\"Sketching
Sketching one another in Kyoto Zen Photography Experience workshop, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other ideas:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Learn how to sketch, draw, or paint.<\/strong> Find inspiration from CREATIVE EVERYDAY<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  2. Go on a street photography adventure with STREET HUNT<\/a>! Put yourself in novel and random situations, to find more inspiration to shoot photos of your everyday life<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  3. Make your own photo slideshows in iMovie, or make your own beats in garangeband. If you need music to add to your own slideshows, download my beats for free<\/a>. <\/li>\n
  4. Go on a walk.<\/strong> When you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re bored, take your camera for a walk<\/a>. Walk for the sake of walking and clearing your mind. Treat your walking as a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153zen meditation<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, and take photos of interesting stuff you encounter. <\/li>\n
  5. Watch great films or cinema<\/a> on your laptop, and take screenshots of any cinema compositions which inspire you. Start with Akira Kurosawa<\/a> (Rashomon<\/a> and 7 Samurai). <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Make more art!<\/h2>\n
    \"Cindy
    Cindy going down stairs. Osaka, 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Your life is too short to be bored. Always strive to work on fun, creative, and personally meaningful projects. When in doubt, make more art<\/a>!<\/p>\n

    Never stop playing and making,
    \nERIC<\/p>\n

    \n

    PHILOSOPHY<\/a><\/h1>\n

    Find more meaning and purpose in your life:<\/p>\n