My Daily Remembrance cards contain several prompts related to “what is at the intersection of…” which I’ve been skipping over as the questions feel too weighty and frankly confusing (even though I was the one who created them!). Today’s draw, however, was about the confluence of excitement and boredom, which I feel up for tackling. The answer, as my first pass, would be comfort and a safe coziness.
Excitement carries the potential for challenge and risk, which I tend to shy away from as much as possible. I rely on social interaction as my primary source of excitement, but it tends to quickly escalate into feeling overwhelmed and overstimulated. I have, however, had a few times in recent memory where things felt too static and that there was too little excitement.
Boredom comes for me also in many social settings; once I pass a certain point of too much activity happening around me, my brain goes into a lower gear and I feel immensely underwhelmed and disinterested in connection. Music pumping, lots of physical movement in a crowded space or many people all talking at once leads me to check out.
Even though I need little sensory information coming at me in order to feel satiated, I require a constant stream of mental engagement. I want to be learning something new and challenging my perception of the world as deeply as I can every day. My capacity to take in this type of stimulation–the intellectual/perception kind–is much higher than my external-stimuli processing one.
My dream, then, I suppose, would be a place where I could engage in both internal and external conversations, through writing, art and verbal communication, in a laid-back, soothing environment. Coffee-shops, especially large ones with lots of furniture choices, fit me perfectly and are where I’ve had some of my best fits in terms of high mental stimulation/low sensory input environments. Where I live now is unfortunately rather bereft of such places, and instead most of the art and well-being focused events are centered around alcohol (painting + wine, yoga + beer, etc.).
I have some down-time coming up in the next few weeks for the holidays, and I need to make visiting coffee-shops a priority. The coziness, the blending of not too much excitement with not too boring, should be nice. I also find a similar environment in art shops and museums. What places in your life do you find fit your need for stimulation best? Are you an adrenaline-seeker or low-key? Do you require more intellectual or sensory input to feel filled up?
