Great essay! I also love being bored. The early stages of the pandemic, before the insanity and cabin fever truly set in, were a delight of more time to read, catch up on TV/movies, talk with my family, and god forbid THINK. A true introvert's paradise.
It's a shame that whether it's America's Protestant Ethic or just good ole fashioned Capitalism that guilts us into feeling like we constantly need to be PrOdUcTiVe. At the risk of sounding like one of the crank paleo pop-psychology goons like Jordan Peterson, I think our hunter-gather forebears did a whole lot of NOTHING once the food was gathered and eaten.
Humans were not meant to be mindless automatons. We should embrace laziness, at least occasionally, to reclaim some of our humanity,
Nice haircut! I don't get bored so much as I get spacy and just sort of float around. It's my favorite space to be in. Completely unstructured time sounds like dream. Parties and dinners sound like work. Haha! Your writing is thoroughly enjoyable, Michael. :)
I used to get bored as a kid, as all kids do, and - living in the middle of nowhere - I'd turn to my mother, who would say to me, "I am not your entertainment committee." So I'd go read or build a fort or draw a picture or write a story, and eventually develop a brain that never gets bored. There are so many thoughts you can think, so many stories you can consider, or even come up with, so many mysteries to ponder. I feel bad for all the kids who had entertainment committees for parents.
One of my favorite things about this Substack is reading the lead-in to the ‘manage subscription’ button. The fact that Michael changes it every time to go with the theme of the post flies in the face of his claim that he’s lazy...and makes his work decidedly *not* boring. (And I do realize being boring and being bored are different. 🙂) And, hey, I have the big B from the Stuckeybowl sign on my mantel, so maybe my decor goes with the theme of this post: B for Boring.
😃🖐️ I think I would give my part of the sign--and all the other tchotchkes I got at the sale--back if some service would stream “Ed” for all of eternity!
Totally relate to this. My husband must work on the tasks on the lists he creates in his notebook every day. I usually take a nap after morning coffee, which he brings to me in bed when I first wake up. Somehow the relationship works.
Great essay! I also love being bored. The early stages of the pandemic, before the insanity and cabin fever truly set in, were a delight of more time to read, catch up on TV/movies, talk with my family, and god forbid THINK. A true introvert's paradise.
It's a shame that whether it's America's Protestant Ethic or just good ole fashioned Capitalism that guilts us into feeling like we constantly need to be PrOdUcTiVe. At the risk of sounding like one of the crank paleo pop-psychology goons like Jordan Peterson, I think our hunter-gather forebears did a whole lot of NOTHING once the food was gathered and eaten.
Humans were not meant to be mindless automatons. We should embrace laziness, at least occasionally, to reclaim some of our humanity,
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Love this. I have an 11 month old so unstructured or uncommitted time is rare but hope to be in the space you are before too long.
Nice haircut! I don't get bored so much as I get spacy and just sort of float around. It's my favorite space to be in. Completely unstructured time sounds like dream. Parties and dinners sound like work. Haha! Your writing is thoroughly enjoyable, Michael. :)
I used to get bored as a kid, as all kids do, and - living in the middle of nowhere - I'd turn to my mother, who would say to me, "I am not your entertainment committee." So I'd go read or build a fort or draw a picture or write a story, and eventually develop a brain that never gets bored. There are so many thoughts you can think, so many stories you can consider, or even come up with, so many mysteries to ponder. I feel bad for all the kids who had entertainment committees for parents.
This is my life right now, in a nutshell.
One of my favorite things about this Substack is reading the lead-in to the ‘manage subscription’ button. The fact that Michael changes it every time to go with the theme of the post flies in the face of his claim that he’s lazy...and makes his work decidedly *not* boring. (And I do realize being boring and being bored are different. 🙂) And, hey, I have the big B from the Stuckeybowl sign on my mantel, so maybe my decor goes with the theme of this post: B for Boring.
I have a pair of the bowling pins (from the sign)! High five, fellow “Ed” fan! ✋🏼🎳
😃🖐️ I think I would give my part of the sign--and all the other tchotchkes I got at the sale--back if some service would stream “Ed” for all of eternity!
Edgy haircut, bruh.
Totally relate to this. My husband must work on the tasks on the lists he creates in his notebook every day. I usually take a nap after morning coffee, which he brings to me in bed when I first wake up. Somehow the relationship works.