You’d think boredom was fatal, the way many people, assuredly teenagers, will go to great lengths to avoid it. From my observations of humans, including myself, it appears that irritating stimulation is preferable to no stimulation.
What do we do these days when, say, we’re waiting at a coffee shop for our friend to show up? We order a chai latte with almond milk. While that’s being made, we look around a bit, settle in our seat, maybe tidy up the table top’s condiments. Okay, that’s done. Now what?
The incredible urge at that point is to pull out our self-stimulation device and open an app.
No one is disagreeing that this is a pretty common, maybe close to unanimous behavior pattern in this country (and most others?) these days…right?
That’s just one example of the phenomenon, which is that when sensory stimulation drops below a minimum rate and power, different for each person probably, we humans want to find a way to pump it back up. We’re uncomfortable with low stimulation. Just like other addictions, it takes a higher and higher level of stimulation to satisfy the appetite, over time.
I’ve had lots of “ain’t it awful” conversations with people about this. A seminal moment was one day when I was bicycling through Balboa Park and saw a family of five spread out for a sunny afternoon picnic on a blanket. The balls and mitts were laid out. The cooler was filled with snacks. All five–parents and kids–were on their smart phones, heads bowed toward the little screens five inches from their faces.
When I get under-stimulated, i.e. bored, I’ve found my temptation is to watch cat and dog videos on Facebook. I’m not proud of that. Just sayin’ we are all at risk of escaping boredom through mindless, passive stimulation.
What’s wrong with mindless, passive stimulation, you ask? Nothing inherently. It’s a choice of how one may decide to spend some time of their finite life span. But there’s some gold to be mined in boredom that I’d like to get more of. I think some of you readers might as well.
One nugget from boredom is that if you can stand it for long enough, you regain your ability to act on the world around you, rather than being acted upon by the world. Another nice shiny rock is that you find out what your own motivations are. If you get bored enough, and there’s no easy passive stimulation option around, you finally start deciding to do something, or not, as a conscious choice. You might just sit in the courtyard long enough to get rid of the urge to find external satisfaction, instead watching the slower movement of the other world instead of the light-speed chatter of the human world. Then ideas happen. Feelings happen. Connection with a larger perspective happens. Priorities get re-examined. Old hungers re-emerge. New ones arrive. “Aha” moments are not uncommon.
Spend enough time in boredom, or meditation as it’s normally called, and you begin to exert influence in your life, rather than being a receiving antenna for all these external sources of stimulation. Again, it’s a choice. Either path is a valid option. Transmitter or receiver. Which would you prefer?