Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Boredom has a Place

So says this NYTimes article by Peter Toohey.

The closing arguments:
Boredom makes our lives run more smoothly and even more happily. That’s if we heed its warning and try to remedy the deleterious constraints of a Santino-like existence.

Boredom should not be abused, exploited, ignored, sneered at, rejected or talked down to as a product of laziness or of an idle, uninventive and boring mind. It’s there to help, and its advice should be welcomed and acted upon. That many of us suffer from it should be no cause for embarrassment. Boredom deserves respect for the beneficial experience that it is.
Yet we don't allow ourselves to get bored in the first place. Therefore, it is a blessing that we have Shabbos that limits our activities and permits the brain to get creative.

That's why I am so annoyed at this "half-Shabbos" texting phenomenon. Nu, so you're bored. It's a part of life, it's good for the brain, stop whining.

4 comments:

Yedid Nefesh said...

I once read an article (which I cant find :( ) that defined boredom as the result of the nature of our societies. It was basically implying that because we have so much in this world and so many choices that in the end, we end being overwhelmed, unable to choose, and everything looses it's appeal. And that's boredom.
I love to read so i never get bored, unless i'm stuck somewhere without a book. I always wonder what do people who do not like to read do when they get bored?

Princess Lea said...

I'm usually armed with a book. And those who don't know how to sit quietly without entertainment tend to drive everyone else crazy.

But being unable to be bored is an indicator that one is unable to be alone with their thoughts. I'm a ruminator; I think and analyze everything. Some don't make any time for thinking.

Yedid Nefesh said...

Yeah but alone with your thoughts does not make you bored. I am also into thinking and analyzing everything but that's exactly why i dont usually get bored.

Princess Lea said...

I would say that boredom reduces one to be alone with their thoughts. In order to ruminate, one needs to be able to turn off the toys and stare at the wall.