last week i posed this question in my women’s facebook group >> when was the last time you uttered the words “i’m bored” and what did you do about it?
only a few seemed to fully relate to this topic. most said they had never been bored, or hadn’t been bored in years, or couldn’t remember the last time they’d been bored. many mentioned being very busy, having too much to do – working, shopping, cooking, utilizing technology (smart phones/the internet/streaming services), enjoying nature, traveling, reading, listening to music, people-watching, exercising, meeting up with friends, etc etc etc.
one woman did say she felt restless at times, which she identified as a form of boredom. i agreed, since i’ve felt this way myself.
in fact, YES to all of this! everything everyone said made sense. i too have access to the world at my fingertips, i too am busy with work and friends, i too enjoy just plain living. plus i am in the midst of a huge home renovation!
and yet . . . sometimes i am bored. i sat and pondered this, wondered why and how this could be. and this is what i discovered to be true for me.
that, though i consider myself a busy and (dare i say) interesting person, i have definitely been bored at various times. should i be bored? no, probably never. there is always something to do, especially in an old house that will forever need something done. and there are many things that i’m constantly curious about, wish to explore, or am already invested in. but again . . . i am bored on different occasions.
i finally realized that it is usually when i’m procrastinating. when i have something i need to do but don’t want to do. or even when i really want to do something but know it will require time and effort. these are the times that i find myself surfing the web, but not actually seeing (or caring about) the content.
oh, don’t get me wrong. i do spend “productive entertainment time” on the web (relaxing and unwinding is important). however, i think there is a difference between those activities and “surfing without caring,” at least for me. i do both. when i do the latter, i’m bored and i’m usually procrastinating.
i also began wondering if people are sometimes just TOO busy these days. they’d avoid the pitfalls of boredom, of course. but they might also avoid sacred moments of doing absolutely nothing. simply sitting with their thoughts, allowing glimpses of their inner world, welcoming (perhaps even examining) whatever emotion comes up in the process. not DOING, but FEELING. sometimes people fear this introspective exploration and will do almost anything to dodge it. could this sometimes be at play when “escaping boredom?”
at any rate, it was definitely an interesting question. and i appreciated all the different and thoughtful perspectives given. a lot to think about on this hot summer’s day.
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