The Art of being Bored
& why we need it.
When was the last time you were truly bored?
Last year, I started writing in a journal every morning. I was actually doing it, sitting down, pen to paper, nothing but my unfiltered thoughts. A word vomit of sorts where I could dump my genuine thoughts on a page before the noise of the world started to interfere and steer them in the way it wanted. I stuck to it for a while until our daughter showed up which made my mornings look a bit different. So I fell off.
Recently, I pulled out my notebook, tested a few pens to see which one felt inspiring to write with and started up again. Before I started writing, I flipped back through & read some things I was pondering last year and came across something about boredom. About how rare it feels to be bored. We always have something to steal our valuable attention. Ping notifications, emails and zoom calls that should be quick text messages.
If you really think about it, being bored is where all the good stuff happens. When i’m bored, I notice things I would never notice. Strange shadows on the wall, the way light hits a glass of water and how I wish I could take a picture of it, thoughts I’d never chase if I were busy “bettering myself” with a podcast or productivity hack (which im guilty of and I think there’s tons of value in). It’s wild how often we convince ourselves we’re improving by consuming more, when maybe the best thing we could do is nothing at all.
Boredom seems to be a luxury now. One we’ve lost. Something the algorithms have expertly taken from us. But I miss it. I miss the slow afternoons, the aimless walks just to walk, the freedom to not respond, not scroll, not improve. Was this just being young with less responsibility? Or is there a way to have spurts of boredom that we can revel in and not feel guilty about as working adults with responsibilities.
Is scheduling boredom on our calendar insanity?? Is this the same as meditating? going for a walk? Im starting to tell myelf boredom isn’t a lack of stimulation, but more of a reset. Maybe boredom is a little step backwards to re-think things through and find a new more purposeful path forward.
Boredom comes in all shapes and sizes and I am working on perfecting the art of it for myself. That’s what I think it has turned into. an art. finding a way to make beauty with boredom. Just like we used to.
I don’t know how the timing of this post could be so perfect, as I am reading this while sitting at a cafe with nothing more than a notebook and my thoughts. (And my iPhone, but hey this isn’t easy. I’m still learning.)
This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Especially with AI bombarding us with more information than we ever could realistically process, either because we asked for it or because other people use it to create even more meaningless content they can throw at us. These days it almost feels strange when you’re sitting somewhere alone with your thoughts.
I feel Substack at least feels a little less like information overload, and more like the occasional long read by a small set of people I’ve curated to be here. With this exact post being another piece of evidence for that case.
Hat tip to you, Riley.
It’s interesting to think that boredom is very much a lost luxury. When you’re young you hope and dream of finding things to do so that you wouldn’t aimlessly stare at the ceiling during the summer, but now it almost feels like that feeling is worth more then the chaos of life and the over consumption of our phones. I’ve always found your photography and general philosophy toward life inspiring.