Bored
...people are consumed by boredom...It is like some sort of dust. One comes and goes without seeing it, one breathes it in, one eats it, one drinks it, and it is so fine that it doesn't even scrunch between one's teeth. But if one stops for a moment, it settles like a blanket over the face and hands. One has to constantly shake this ash-rain off one. That is why people are so restless.
(Georges Bernanos, The Diary of a Country Priest)
We've all heard the exasperated teenage cry, 'BORING!' yet, as recent studies reveal, although more vocal about their feelings, teenagers are far from alone in experiencing boredom. Britain is apparently Europe's fourth most bored nation, each of us suffering six hours of boredom each week.
The democratisation of leisure in the West since the 19th Century has brought in its wake an epidemic of boredom. With more time on our hands, boredom has become a defining characteristic of our culture; for many a default state for experiencing the world rather than an occasional experience. Indeed, it has been suggested that in the modern period "interesting" and "boring" have come to supplant "good" and "bad" as categories of value in the West.
If this is the case, and boredom is perceived to be a critical threat to our wellbeing, then the church is presented with a unique set of challenges in its outreach. Might we be tempted to respond simply by making faith and spirituality more 'interesting' or 'entertaining'?
Yet despite sharing the same capacity and instinct for boredom as everyone else, Christians may yet be distinctive by walking a different and countercultural path. Rather than seeking to discover new and innovative ways to escape boredom, our call may be to wilfully embrace moments of inactivity and practise waiting. In her book, The Noonday Demon, Kathleen Norris explores her ongoing struggle with lethargy and boredom after her husband's death and shares her daily prayer through that experience:
This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.
Learning, in times when we are called to do nothing, to 'do nothing, gallantly' - might that offer a way for Christians in our bored society?
Ben Care
Comments
Having commented on Friday, yesterday I learned that my young neighbour was moving out. He had lived in the flat next door for about six months, though less so for the last two. Without my even asking he gave me the reason for his move: "I'm bored."
Henri Nouwen speaks to this in his wonderful interview in "Beloved" in terms of helping those who are lonely to find new purpose in prayer for and simple hospitality of others. Yesterday's RC lectionary reading from Matthew's gospel with the parable of the vineyard owner and the workers recruited at different times of the day highlights that there is always work to do in the Kingdom of God, and that God is seeking those who are willing to do the work, at whatever stage in their life. Such workers will never be bored, it strikes me. And (as Kathleen Norris knows well from her experience) the Benedictine and other monastic traditions teach the importance of waiting on God, and cultivating stillness and attentiveness. Personally, I struggle to remember the last time that I was bored, although my teenagers have no such trouble.
The bliss of active retirement - there is no time to be bored. In moments when others might be bored I creep into the secret place I have with Jesus and we hug each other. That's enough for me.
When my children were little and they would say, "I am bored!,"my response would be, "only little minds are bored." One day my eldest asked what I meant and so I explained that boredom is a very good time to ask God if He has any ideas as to what to do. We are bored when we come to the end of entertaining ourselves....a very good place to ask Him what to do! Both children soon got the message when I started giving them jobs when they gave the boredom message...and started asking God for ideas instead. Thoug He never seemed to tell them to clean up their room; He did place a friend on their mind or-dare i say it- a book to read!
Thank you for sharing this profound insight.
How curious. I remember as a child regularly crying out 'I'm bored!', but now in all honesty I can't remember the last time I was bored. I positively welcome those 'down-time' moments at the bus stop, or in the waiting room, or in the checkout queue, the walk from one place to another, or the hours when sleep eludes me, etc. I regard these as precious moments, extra opportunities for just me and Him time. If I'm out and about with eyes open He alerts me to all sorts of people and situations and we talk about them, or He might move me to interact with them, or there might be something that causes me to cry out with thanks and praise. I know, for sure, that there are those who regard me as boring but they tend to be those who find anything not to their taste to be boring. I have never been a dedicated follower of fashion but it fascinates me that young men want to wear their jeans hung low and that young (and not so young) women want to wear little dresses; both remind me of toddlers in nappies. It makes me wonder if in the rush to grow up there is still a yearning somewhere to be a child. As boredom is something I associate with childhood it makes me wonder if it's all part of the same thing. I remember my parents helping me to overcome my boredom, but it wasn't until my relationship with the Lord developed that any sense of boredom ceased. We do need to find interesting ways to connect with a bored society, but connecting is not enough or it will have just been entertainment, like scattering seed on stony ground with quick but not lasting results. Living lives that make people want to walk with you and learn more of Jesus just as the disciples walked with Jesus (he didn't walk with them) is much harder and is slow going and not easy in a society, even a church, that sees quick results as progress.
Opinionata: Bordom is having no life purpose. When one is bored, it is because one is not living to one's values, or not following the path that God has set for you to follow. If you are not sure whether you are living God's path, ask yourself, Am I bored?'
Date:
2012-03-28 16:11:59
Author:
Arthur Dent