Boredom
Once, I gleefully proclaimed to a confidante, "I'm seldom ever bored." Though part of me still believes that, I find nowadays there is a collective ennui a brewing, and mind you, one can be awfully busy with work and play, and still be terribly bored. One can appear to be 'having fun', and still be bored. In supposedly fun group situations, and still be bored!
The etymology of the word 'bored' can be traced back to the late 18th century, the era of the powdered wigs classical music ala Hayden, 'witty' (terribly boring?) literature and stage plays, and the proverbial 'fop' - a man whose very core centers around his appearance and 'refinements'. The word was originally used as a figurative expression of moving forward slowly and steadily. (www.etymonline.com) So boredom is a reaction to slow progress. No wonder then, in this era of instant gratification, rates of boredom have skyrocketed!
So it would be safe to say that boredom as a concept is an invention of an Eighteenth Century Enlightenment ideology. The same period saw the rise of modern science, a new emphasis on the power of capitalism and the economy, and the creation of the 'Western' worldview as we know it. So was boredom 'invented'? Like the light bulb?
If boredom is an invented state of mind, what is its purpose? To entertain? Its almost fashionable to be bored. Nonchalance is written on the face of many a young MTV pop tart as a mark of credibility these days. All inventions have a purpose, and in our modern world, perhaps boredom was invented as a solution to a number of things... Ignorance, maybe? Bored people are seldom seen as unintelligent, though they may be. As Tolstoy observed brilliantly, “Boredom: the desire for desires”. So our boredom reflects a desire in genesis. There’s something better, faster, stronger, sexier out there. Not here and now, somewhere else.
Perhaps boredom is a safety valve for intuition and inspiration. We create it because we wish to avoid the sweeping change that will rock our boat when that intuitive voice speaks. Boredom is a creation of ‘logical’, Enlightenment thought because there can be no tolerance for the non-linear, mysterious and inexplicable in that worldview. Boredom is a sedative. The world’s many devastating problems from war to environmental doomsday are less real to the bored person.
Having said that, I confess I’m writing this out of boredom! For all its pitfalls, being aware of that boredom puts us on the inevitable path to personal reflection. We strive to make meaning of each event in our lives, and to live in the moment.