‘I’m bored!’ I shouted to my mum. My six-year-old self with a tantrum was declaring the reason for my mood.
Expecting some sympathy and somewhat to my dismay, I received my reply. Direct and with no-nonsense my mother put the ball in my court.
It has stuck with me ever since. ‘Only the boring people get bored.’ This was her reply and I have since vowed to stay away from ‘Borenism’ Yes you are right, there is no such word. I made it up. The condition of the weak and a lot of kids today waiting to be entertained. Waiting to be fulfilled at the click of a button, to keep them in a state of mesmerisation.
My mother was a busy working mum, unusual for the early 1960s. There was no internet or videos for me to be placed in front of and I cannot remember being let loose to play outside for long periods when I was very young. Staying amused came from using my imagination. I was forced to exercise it at an early age, probably before I knew what being a boring person was. One thing was for sure, I did not want to be one. The word BORING sent negative vibes through me and I had worked out that boring was the opposite of interesting. I wanted to be interesting and according to my mum, that meant I had to become interested.
The word boring has many synonyms – arid, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dry, dull, dusty, flat, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum, jading, jejune, leaden, mind-numbing, monochromatic, monotonous, numbing, old, pedestrian, ponderous, slow, stale, stodgy, stuffy, stupid, tame, tedious, tiresome, tiring, uninteresting, wearisome, weary, wearying
Who would want to be associated with any of these descriptions?
The downside of learning how to stay away from boredom is you eventually are faced with an attention span that over the years seems to be getting shorter and the stuff that used to occupy me for hours does not have the ability to keep me focused. It could be an age thing. Personally, I think it is age panic, a term I use to describe the fear of not having enough time to do all that I want to do. I find myself jumping from one activity to the next in a hurry.
I worry about the children of the future. their imaginations brainwashed by too much screen time. Will they become the drab, dreary, and drudging people of the future? Will society struggle, becoming slow, stale, stuffy, and stupid.
I flick tiresomely thorough news channels and listen to tedious, tiring, and uninteresting reports from people who are numbing, monochromatic, monotonous, wearisome, and weary……you see where I am going with this. It is happening right? You surely have noticed.
I will try and keep this short. God forbid I would hate to bore you.
Don’t be boring. Get stuck into something that you find interesting. It can be anything. The world has a lot of stuff to spark your interest but it will not come knocking at your door or come through your screen.
Love to have your thought or reactions.
