State of Mind

The other evening (Darryl could probably give you the exact day and time), I said something I don't think I have ever said before - "I'm bored."  Darryl looked at me in shock, and I very quickly retracted my statement.  "I mean I'm bored of Facebook."

"Too late," he said.  "I'm writing this one down."

"I'm bored" is my "Top Three" list of statements that drive me crazy, along with "I can't."  (I do realize that's only two - although counting is hard, I still know the difference between two and three.  I need to leave room for another statement that doesn't come to mind right now that might annoy me more than those two.)  "This is boring" is a variation that makes me almost as crazy.  Perhaps you find it boring, but that doesn't mean it is.  (Unless you are talking about staring at the computer screen for several minutes, just waiting for something new to happen on Facebook - that can legitimately be called boring.)

It is my opinion that boredom is a state of mind, and one that an individual is completely in control of.  You choose to be bored.  There are an infinite number of things that a person can think of, and probably almost as many that one can do.  (The two sets may even have the same cardinality - we'd have to determine a few things first, and many of you would likely find that boring.  That's ok.  We math geeks know better.)

How many kids have told their parents that they were bored, only to hear back, "In that case, there are plenty of things I can get you to do - wash the dishes, clean the bathroom, clean your bedroom..."?  My kids seem to very quickly become un-bored after hearing that.

Teachers hear it from students (or see it in their faces) many times.  This is not only hard for the teacher to prevent, but the very nature of school makes it difficult for students to break free.  I always did, but not always with the greatest results, and it definitely didn't promote others' learning.  Once when talking to a friend in class, the teacher stopped and asked me what he had just said, which I repeated, almost verbatim.  He quickly recovered and informed me that just because I could talk and listen at the same time, it didn't mean everyone else could too.  However, although it may be more difficult, I still believe a person can choose to not be bored.

So, the next time you are tempted to say you are bored, engage your mind instead.  I bet Da Vinci was never bored.