When is the last time you were bored? I mean REALLY bored. Like, stuck for the day with nothing to occupy your interest? I'm not talking about the little moments that come when we are in a boring meeting, waiting at the doctors office, or stuck in traffic. I'm referring to the "I have an entire afternoon and nothing to do with it and no options to fill my time" kind of boredom?
Can't remember? Neither can I...
What I can remember is that when I was a kid, this was a common occurrence. Not daily, but often enough. Days spent quite literally staring at the walls, re-reading old books, desperate to find a way to connect with friends.
I hated those days!
Yet, because of those days I started playing the guitar (poorly), built a tree fort (better), and taught myself how to sail a boat. I also learned how to use my dads tools (dangerous), figured out to climb on the roof without a ladder (useless AND dangerous), perfected my tennis serve (still decent), learned to juggle a soccer ball (now long lost), and spent a lot of time just dreaming.
I never wanted to be bored, but boredom was a catalyst for a lot creative energy.
I'm no luddite and embrace technology with the best of them. But sometimes I miss the boredom moments. The friendships they created. The crazy adventures they started. And the out of the box thinking those moments led to.
I'm almost never bored now. It's no longer 3 channels of programming but 300. I have books and internet articles and blogs and email to fill my time and my mind. I'm just starting to wonder what I might do if I really got bored again?