In the summertime, it seems we need to look for ways to stay amused. More accurately, we look for ways to keep our children amused! Those of us who parent and/or work, or even those who are retired and volunteering, would not need to go far to keep busy or entertained. Being amused is more of a happenstance for most of us than it is a much-sought-after holy grail.
Summer in Weyburn is, in fact, rife with things to do - even in August, which seems to have gone from being the lazy month of summer to being more hustle-bustle than July!
It's no insult to my intelligence to be described as easily amused. I truly appreciate the little things in life. It has surely been said, by some sage at some point, that we can ponder all of creation just by watching a bumble bee doing its job or by listening to a babbling brook. How many of us get the chance or take the time to recluse enough to enjoy those moments? Personally, I'd rather listen to stillness any day, than to a bumbling fool babbling on and on about nothing!
Listening to oneself talk is, I suppose, how some people stay amused. It is certainly something I have been known to do as well and, when I am alone, I also like to use different accents and invented terminologies, just to keep it interesting!
My readers know by now that boredom is a four-letter word in my home. In fact, actual four-letter words are not frowned upon nearly as much as the utterance, "I'm bored." Any person who says that in my presence will be put to work! Any mother or industrious, purpose-driven person alike, would agree that there is too much to do in this life for any person, young or grown, to be bored.
If you are easily bored and are not easily amused, I suggest starting a gratitude journal and start volunteering. Someone will find something good for you to do and, you'll discover, true contentment is found within you anyway.
In spite of their technological yokes, teenagers these days are not much different than we were twenty years ago. It's a bit peculiar, perhaps, that they text each other while in the same room together, but they still do silly things to get each others' attention, which is indeed a timeless rite.
When I was 17, my family visited Disneyland. By then, I worked, I drove, I was a student representative and I spent most of my time with my friends. My brother, however, was in Kindergarten, so he was the perfect age. The happiest place on earth was indeed amusing, but one particularly significant event from that day still shines above the rest of our stories. With 'It's a Small World' still stuck in our heads, we attended the Lion King parade. We quickly discovered that we were sitting immediately next to another family who had the same last name as us, Finney. What was even more amusing was that their little boy shared the same first name as my brother! They called their boy Jonathon and we called ours J.J., but it was still his name and it was indeed a small world for all of us.
That event triggered something in me, because ever since then I have continued perceiving the world as small. Personal evolution, therefore, directly translates to global improvement. We may come in uniquely different packages, but we are all the same. Blessings have a ripple effect!
Currently, I am most amused by people who mow their lawn several times in a week or vacuum their vehicles daily. Perhaps my favourite pastime is attempting to figure out human behavior! HA! The mystery continues, so it's a good thing that I like mysteries.
