Staring out the window can be soothing. Scribbling “mindless” drivel can be done mindfully. The voice in my head that calls it scribbling doesn’t know a thing!
It seems like Sisyphus rolling the boulder uphill for eternity - or MAYBE that particular fate would be PREFERABLE. Yea, Mike, & VERILY, I HATH been there ! It might've been down to karma in my case.
This was a great read! Especially for the perspective on boredom - as a high school teacher trying to battle the cell phone issue, I probably need to be more compassionate towards my students about their boredom in chemistry class. (But, no, you may not take out your phone. Look, I have this whole shelf of books and magazines if you're done with your work! Or you could do work from other classes. Or play Periodic Table Battleship. Or, God forbid, talk to someone.)
I mostly feel wildly over-scheduled. True story: My brother's first wife, at the time his girlfriend and a junior in college, remarked on being bored while visiting our family one weekend. My mother, astonished, took herself out of the conversation and returned with a handwritten list of all the things this young woman could do with her time. For her, it was a one-off, and she found humor in it. For me, it was a lifestyle imposed by my well-intentioned (and loving) mother. I'm worn out just writing about it. Then again, after reading the tale of your chaotic journey, I arrived to the comments already exhausted. 😂
Boredom does appear to have a physiological component. It tilts towards mild depression, yet it feels like its own thing. Not quite this, not quite that. I’ve experienced it often enough to be quite familiar with the moral judgments that are placed around it. As if I am choosing it; as if there is a certain laziness embedded within the experience as its cause. I suspect it’s rooted in certain neurotransmitters being out of balance. I’ve learned to keep it to myself as mentioning “I’m feeling bored” gets a reaction I can live without.
Interesting to hear about the physical aspect of boredom, because I find that if I get REALLY bored (having to do something that holds no interest for me at all) it can make me feel actually nauseous. I've never heard anyone else say this, but on the other hand I can't believe I am special or unusual. Maybe it happens to everyone but no-one thinks it worthy of mention??
Not having interest in a hobby after trauma is called depression, not boredom I think. As someone who struggles with depression, lack of interest in things I love to do is the earliest warning sign of depression’s return. I did really enjoy the bus saga and especially seeing the world through the little dots in the bus skin like a fly 🪰
Oh my goodness Mike, that journey! I certainly don’t envy your journey back to East Yorkshire either. When I was a boy I was sent to a seminary in Mirfield. My parents would drive me up to Victoria coach station to catch ‘The Death Bus’, as I named it, because I did actually want to be dead by the time I arrived in Huddersfield.
Loved this! Boredom is definitely dangerous! I tend to go into some sort of doom spiral with it. I’m bored, then I don’t appear to want to quell it after a while.
Mild carpet burns on your scalp on from the seats. Not something I thought about before my overnight bus journey in Australia in 2004! 🫠
I've largely been an "if you're bored then you're boring" kind of person, and I'm almost never bored. But not deriving pleasure from things you once did is a sign of depression. I wonder how often depression is mistaken for boredom.
I'm always envy about people who can be bored and still do nothing about it (mostly young people). I wish I could be bored without all those "you should be doing ...." thoughts luring in the back of my mind. Once I read that to be really creative, you have to get in that bored serendipitous (is that correct English?) state of mind. But I never seem to get there.
Staring out the window can be soothing. Scribbling “mindless” drivel can be done mindfully. The voice in my head that calls it scribbling doesn’t know a thing!
It seems like Sisyphus rolling the boulder uphill for eternity - or MAYBE that particular fate would be PREFERABLE. Yea, Mike, & VERILY, I HATH been there ! It might've been down to karma in my case.
This was a great read! Especially for the perspective on boredom - as a high school teacher trying to battle the cell phone issue, I probably need to be more compassionate towards my students about their boredom in chemistry class. (But, no, you may not take out your phone. Look, I have this whole shelf of books and magazines if you're done with your work! Or you could do work from other classes. Or play Periodic Table Battleship. Or, God forbid, talk to someone.)
Will look into periodic table battleship. Chess is popular right now for my high school students after they’ve finished their work.
See above for battleship link. It's super easy to set up! I use the IB ptables that don't have the element names written.
Periodic Table Battleship? New one on me.
https://teachbesideme.com/periodic-table-battleship/
Thank you!
I mostly feel wildly over-scheduled. True story: My brother's first wife, at the time his girlfriend and a junior in college, remarked on being bored while visiting our family one weekend. My mother, astonished, took herself out of the conversation and returned with a handwritten list of all the things this young woman could do with her time. For her, it was a one-off, and she found humor in it. For me, it was a lifestyle imposed by my well-intentioned (and loving) mother. I'm worn out just writing about it. Then again, after reading the tale of your chaotic journey, I arrived to the comments already exhausted. 😂
Ha! I can relate to this.
🤜🤛
🤜🤛
Boredom does appear to have a physiological component. It tilts towards mild depression, yet it feels like its own thing. Not quite this, not quite that. I’ve experienced it often enough to be quite familiar with the moral judgments that are placed around it. As if I am choosing it; as if there is a certain laziness embedded within the experience as its cause. I suspect it’s rooted in certain neurotransmitters being out of balance. I’ve learned to keep it to myself as mentioning “I’m feeling bored” gets a reaction I can live without.
Are you sure you didn't copy my notes from my trip from SP to Rio in Brazil, circa 2005? Kinda sounds similar!
Interesting to hear about the physical aspect of boredom, because I find that if I get REALLY bored (having to do something that holds no interest for me at all) it can make me feel actually nauseous. I've never heard anyone else say this, but on the other hand I can't believe I am special or unusual. Maybe it happens to everyone but no-one thinks it worthy of mention??
Not having interest in a hobby after trauma is called depression, not boredom I think. As someone who struggles with depression, lack of interest in things I love to do is the earliest warning sign of depression’s return. I did really enjoy the bus saga and especially seeing the world through the little dots in the bus skin like a fly 🪰
SO my takeaway from this piece is that if you come visit us in Bristol, you will absolutely 100% be coming by bus, right?
There is nothing but THE BUS. Substack is THE BUS. Everything is THE BUS.
Oh my goodness Mike, that journey! I certainly don’t envy your journey back to East Yorkshire either. When I was a boy I was sent to a seminary in Mirfield. My parents would drive me up to Victoria coach station to catch ‘The Death Bus’, as I named it, because I did actually want to be dead by the time I arrived in Huddersfield.
Loved this! Boredom is definitely dangerous! I tend to go into some sort of doom spiral with it. I’m bored, then I don’t appear to want to quell it after a while.
Mild carpet burns on your scalp on from the seats. Not something I thought about before my overnight bus journey in Australia in 2004! 🫠
Hope you don’t read enough of my stuff to see me coming and stealing your smoking hot lines. Just kidding. This piece was great.
I've largely been an "if you're bored then you're boring" kind of person, and I'm almost never bored. But not deriving pleasure from things you once did is a sign of depression. I wonder how often depression is mistaken for boredom.
Great post. I am feeling every stab of pain of that interminable bus ride. Buses are my absolute least favourite way to travel 😖
I'm always envy about people who can be bored and still do nothing about it (mostly young people). I wish I could be bored without all those "you should be doing ...." thoughts luring in the back of my mind. Once I read that to be really creative, you have to get in that bored serendipitous (is that correct English?) state of mind. But I never seem to get there.
I once did the same coach journey, but with a coachload of 15 year olds. It was… not good. I have few regrets but, yeah.