A View From Robin's Nest
July: National Anti Boredom Month
I’m so bored!
I’d Rather Watch Grass Grow than Not Retire
Robin Hoselton
Back in the mid-80’s, Alan Caruba, a public relations consultant in the field of pest control, declared July as Anti-Boredom Month. I’m guessing he got bored advising people how to get rid of cockroaches and decided to have a little fun.
Along with his proclamation, he began issuing annual lists of the most boring films and most boring celebrities. Of course the media glommed onto this—perhaps it didn’t have anything less boring to report.
To give him a little credibility, Caruba explained there was a serious side to boredom, principally an indicator of depression that could lead to suicide.
Donna K. Darden, a professor of sociology at the University of Arkansas studied the causes and effects of boredom and concluded younger people are more prone to spells of boredom than those who are older, and less educated people are more likely to become bored.
At my job when I mentioned looking forward to retirement, I couldn’t believe so many of my fellow workers made remarks like, “Oh, I could never retire because I’d be bored to death.”
If You Can’t Say Something Nice…
Now my mother taught me to keep my mouth shut if I couldn’t say something nice about a person, but I wanted to scream at them, “What the H E double hockey sticks is the matter with you people? Don’t you have a life outside of 9 to 5? Where’s your gumption and creativity and imagination?”
Isn’t there a hobby that interests you like photography or wildflower gardening? What about learning something new like gourmet cooking or a foreign language? Have you thought about volunteering at an animal shelter or doing the grocery shopping for a shut-in with no transportation? Are you acquainted with an old-fashioned thing called a book or a crossword/jigsaw puzzle? What about taking those saxophone lessons you’ve secretly wanted?
Ever take a virtual trip—learning all about a country’s environment, its tourist sites and customs, all on the Internet? The Internet is a great place to immerse yourself in even the most trivial subject, like shoelaces.
Personally, I’m busier now that I ever was when I was working so I wouldn’t mind a bit of time just to watch the grass grow!