Last weekend, I was having a late lunch / early dinner outside at a nearby restaurant. It felt good feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. I was enjoying one of my favourite dishes: vitello tonnato. Suddenly, a thought came into my mind: life is less boring (again). Probably, it makes sense: less freedom = more boredom (eg, captivity).
There’s an intriguing relationship between boredom and (internal) curiosity (my blogs). Being bored makes you visit your mind (eg, considering, contemplating, thinking). For some, it’s a burden and for others – like me – it’s a relief. I love wandering around inside my mind. There are no restrictions there (eg, physical). There’s ultimate freedom inside your mind.
While I’m writing this, there are no distractions (eg, music, human voices, artificial sounds). There’s just my view through my windows with branches of trees moving in the wind. The dark clouds up north are telling me that rain isn’t far away. This view allows me to focus internally. There I find my daily surprises, which I view as gifts.
After having written several paragraphs, I need to have short distractions in order to regroup my various lines of thought, and to refocus on the title of this blog. When I need new inspiration then I use certain routines, which have proven to be (very) helpful in the past.
I think, feel and believe that it’s fair to say that the recent restrictions on our freedom, and the subsequent boredom, have led to outbursts of creativity. Some of these were negative (eg, violence). Most were positive (eg, helping other people, new business ideas).
The travel business expects a lasting change in our behaviour: less business travel, less mass tourism. Essentially, less consumerism (eg, my 2016 blog). I’m inclined to agree (for the short to medium term), while realizing that humans are experts in forgetting (my 2020 blog).
An implicit benefit of our current boredom is that we may or will appreciate freedom (again). May 4 was the Dutch WW2 Memorial Day. Dutch Liberation Day was on 5 May 1945. There are few people left with active memories. Freedom is absolute for some and relative to many.
I suppose that periods of boredom have a far greater relevance to us than we realise. It puts our life in perspective. We have a choice: we either appreciate what we have in the here and now, or we focus on what we could have in a future that may never come.
“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” A quote from the 1929 essay A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), an English writer.
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