Being bored is not living.

Bored with the season of gray, grim, grime, none of it is very inspiring. How many times do we say “I’m bored,” and then sit down to do nothing. Is it the season we’re bored with or the same-old, same-old patterns of our lives? Or, are we just lazy and unwilling to engage with our lives? I could go ice skating, take a winter walk, build a bonfire; what will it be?

Having coffee in the Wheatmarket, I ask my friend for ideas for this month’s column. Am I bored? She suggests writing about being bored in our bedrooms. We snicker. Actually, I’m not bored in my bedroom or bored with how it looks.

I am, however, bored with the lingering left-overs of Christmas on the dining room table. So deal with it, echoes a voice. That’s not enough to get me motivated. Looking at this table, I decide I have to create something. I get curious. A bit of energy is emerging. An idea forms. I decide. I want to create an evening around the dining room table. I could invite eight women from different walks of my life - who don’t know each other. Each is unique in my life and we share something that is uniquely ours. This will be an evening of women discovering eight other women…an adventure, and definitely not, a TV-dinner-dining experience.

The idea ruminates. When I meet a friend on the street I hear myself saying, “come to dinner.” Her response, “what can I bring”, carries me forward into, YIKES, I’ve just committed to doing this. Another name pops in and she wants to bring a newly discovered recipe for tomato soup. Suddenly, this gathering is a soup and salad meal to be topped off with brownies and sorbet offered by two other invitees. That was easy; soup, salad, and chocolate.

Now, I’m excited with no time for boredom. The Christmas left-overs are cleared as I imagine friends around the table. The drooping pine boughs, cards never sent, and the languishing Christmas wrappings are scooped up and put away for another year. I’m getting excited to design the table.

I’m rummaging in the basket that houses table linens collected over the years. Right-sizing has its down side. I could use one of these giant tablecloths and tie some kind of knot at the corners. I can announce it as a fashion look. I try it out. It’s fun, but a bit too goofy. In the meantime, more textiles jump at me. This basket packed with linens seemed like a good storage idea but it’s not working. These colorful textiles are crying out “let me strut my stuff.” The open bed linen storage area has room to spare. Now I will see them often. They will wave at me and encourage inviting still more interesting people to share a meal. I’m inspired, energized, and no longer bored. The soon empty basket now wants to be reinvented. What wants to live here next?

Plopping ourselves in front of the TV like it’s a reward.

A recent research study suggests that we Americans are spending 12 hours a day with all the various media choices. Watching TV still seems to be the preferred medium over all else. What’s reported is we’re watching 31 hours of television per WEEK. Talk about watching the world go by. We plop in front of the TV and reward ourselves for a day of work. We kick back, relax, go unconscious, and wish our lives were most interesting.

Rediscovering what is old is new again. Perhaps this will be the year for exactly that; rediscovering the old by reacquainting ourselves with things we’ve loved. What wants to be rediscovered?

Moving the molecules. A friend sent me a story about Rediscovering Dance, Healing with Movement. Dancing is part of all cultures. Most of us danced in childhood in some form of square dancing, line dancing, or even ballroom. We’ve moved to music and our bodies when given a chance remember. I’ve danced in my dining room for years, danced with my cat for lack of a different partner, danced rock and roll with the local bands, tapped my foot until I couldn’t stand it another minute, and finally went out to seek venues to dance and with others who share a similar enthusiasm. There are worlds within our world of people doing things we dream about doing and wish we would motivate ourselves to do. By observing, listening, looking around, and paying attention to what we say we want, we can discover what we’ve been missing. With a little research, asking around and paying attention, we often find the new right here in our near backyard.

Dancing has become my favorite newly rediscovered activity. My pants are fitting better. The water intake has doubled. The eating patterns are improving, all because I’ve rediscovered dancing. I’m forever inviting friends to come dancing. They say they want to..... but don’t. It makes me sad. Dancing is part of all cultures. Most of us danced in childhood in some form of square dancing, line dancing, or even ballroom. We’ve moved to music and our bodies when given a chance remember. I’ve danced in my dining room for years, danced with my cat for lack of a different partner, danced rock and roll with the local bands, tapped my foot until I couldn’t stand it another minute and finally went out to seek venues in which to dance and with others with a similar enthusiasm.

There are worlds within our world of people doing things we dream about doing and wish we could motivate ourselves to get off the couch and do. Once we’re open opportunities abound.

Editor’s Note: Making the Way for the New. Jill is offering her Creating Your Vision Workshop in her Chester Studio Feb. 23, 6-9 p.m. Fee is $45. For information and registration e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 860-526-5155.