The Pursuit of Boredom - and Duolingo
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone”
The first time I read this quote, it hit home and boy did it hit hard. The mere thought of sitting quietly in a room ‘alone’ seemed like an alien concept. Throw in the pandemic and it’s pretty much a recipe for bliss or disaster depending on the kind of person you are.
Boredom is an interesting state. It seems unpleasant and as a result we want to get out of it as soon as we can. A Facebook refresh here, a snap shared there, anything novel works (for some of the older crowd, snap refers to Snapchat; I’ve never used it so count me in the same category).
One of the reasons I went off WhatsApp and Instagram was in pursuit of boredom, or rather, extended phases of it. By reducing novel stimuli and giving my brain time to process information I’d encourage it to get more creative. For starters, I’d ask myself every now and then “What do I do now?”. My phone was no longer a choice because it’s boring.
My latest answer to this question was a little adventurous. I decided to learn a new language.
I resumed, rather, took another shot at learning Japanese. A quick search gave me a fair idea of what was required. Turns out it’s quite simple.
Time, patience and resources (Hi Duolingo!).
To give you an idea, I’m going to spend only ten minutes a day to begin with. A language requires a long term commitment but it’s also important to get a general idea. By trying it out on a lighter note, it’ll let me take a decision for the longer run.
Why Japanese? I’ve been an ardent fan of their food, technology and culture for years now, plus they have Suzuka. Then there’s all the anime I’ve watched, but I digress.
I mean, how’s this not a reason to visit Japan?
My point ultimately comes down to this.
Be bored. Spend some time with yourself.
Make an attempt to sit quietly for five minutes. Some of my best ideas have come to me during these sessions. (Here’s a guided meditation if you want to go that route. It’s how I started.)
You don’t need to learn a new language. We’re all different people with different interests. We’re not lazy but disinterested in a fair amount of the things we do.
The more time you spend doing the things you love, the less time you spend staring mindlessly at screens. There’s no guarantee you’ll like things on the front of it, but if you never try you’ll never know. The internet is a vast library to help you learn almost any skill these days, so have at it.
I hope this spurs you to do something. If not, that’s okay too.
Thank you for reading! Much love, Rainar.
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