If we’ve identified our goals accurately and we have identified the work that needs to be done to achieve those goals, we are bound to get bored. This is because, almost by definition, when we’ve identified our priorities, the work that we need to do will not change very much. In order to succeed, we need to get good at doing the same thing over and over again.
Infatuation with controlling the variety of our experience is exactly the problem that stands between us and happiness. While the Pali word dukkha includes more extreme kinds of suffering its more profound meaning is the unsatisfactory nature of all phenomena. That is, even though we may have achieved everything we want, our success is quickly replaced by desire for more or better.
When our goals are clearly spiritual, we do not constantly need more or better. The same is just fine because the mind is trained to accept whatever happens. In reality things are changing all the time by themselves so we do not need to control them in order to experience variety. Once we let go of our desire to always get what we think we want, what we need will come to us naturally and we can be at peace.
This brings us back to what we need to get good at something: repetition of activities that lead towards our goals. In Buddhism, the highest spiritual goal is the goal to be satisfied with the way things are. In other words, our goal is to be free from all kinds of mental suffering. This can be achieved by repetition of a simple but powerful practice which is to bring the mind into the present moment. Present moment awareness is best practiced in a retreat setting. When you join us for an insight meditation retreat you take the first step towards peace.