When we're bored....
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
I was bored (which seems to be one of the major emotions I'm feeling right now, since I'm just sitting at home like 24/7) so I started reading this month's issue of Reader's Digest. It had this snippet of an article titled The Joy Of Boredom written by a lady called Carolyn Y. Johnson. I read the full article online, and here's some excerpts from the article that I find really interesting:
We are most human when we feel dull. Lolling around in a state of restlessness is one of life's greatest luxuries -- one not available to creatures that spend all their time pursuing mere survival.
To be bored is to stop reacting to the external world, and to explore the internal one. It is in these times of reflection that people often discover something new, whether it is an epiphany about a relationship or a new theory about the way the universe works.
Granted, many people emerge from boredom feeling that they have accomplished nothing. But is accomplishment really the point of life? There is a strong argument that boredom -- so often parodied as a glassy-eyed drooling state of nothingness -- is an essential human emotion that underlies art, literature, philosophy, science, and even love.
If people are slogging away at an activity with little reward, they get annoyed and find themselves feeling bored. If something more engaging comes along, they move on. If nothing does, they may be motivated enough to think of something new themselves. The most creative people are known to have the greatest toleration for long periods of uncertainty and boredom.
The article's quite an interesting read. And it provides for some kind of justification to us perpetually-bored people. Go read it when you're bored. LOL.
Oh, speaking of interesting articles, I find THIS one even more interesting. The boy doesn't look old enough to be a dad. He's 13 for God's sake. Now I know why my dad decided to bring us back to Malaysia instead of growing up in Newcastle.
Oh yeah, I went for a lunch & karaoke session with Nat, Zaty, Yana and Chee on Valentine's! We went to the new Jusco in Setiawangsa/AU2. Chee decided to join us just for lunch cause she said that karaoke-ing wasn't really her thing.
Over lunch, we once again started feeling old cause we somehow ended up on the subject of relationships and marriage. Dah la it was like we subconsciously enter those topics. Urgh. I hate being old. I remember back in Form 5, our only worries were getting through SPM with flying colours. Now we have to think about jobs la, finance la, guys la. -_____________-
So anyways, after lunch, Nat, Zaty, yana and I went for karaoke at this place called Song Box in Jusco. The place was okay laa, looked kinda dodgy masa mula-mula sampai. We spent 2 hours there, wailing and screeching our lungs out. We managed to butcher songs from Womanizer to Isabella to Bring Me To Life. LOL.
And since Zaty had her camera with her, we have lots of videos that might not be uploaded because it might give a fright to our friends to listen to us butchering the songs. Although I think we sang Mr. Brightside quite nicely. It all depends on Zaty though, cause the videos are all with her.
Oh, by the way, I am now the Monash University Student Association's (MUSA) Advancement Representative. I've no idea about what I'll be doing, but apparently my first meeting is on Thursday, where hopefully I'll get a better understanding of my job as the MUSA Advancement Rep.
I needed to know where the meeting for Thursday would be held, so I went to the Monash website. It gave me some guilty pleasure to see my name up there in the committee. LOL.
Okiedokes, enough updates.
Toodles, people! =)
We are most human when we feel dull. Lolling around in a state of restlessness is one of life's greatest luxuries -- one not available to creatures that spend all their time pursuing mere survival.
To be bored is to stop reacting to the external world, and to explore the internal one. It is in these times of reflection that people often discover something new, whether it is an epiphany about a relationship or a new theory about the way the universe works.
Granted, many people emerge from boredom feeling that they have accomplished nothing. But is accomplishment really the point of life? There is a strong argument that boredom -- so often parodied as a glassy-eyed drooling state of nothingness -- is an essential human emotion that underlies art, literature, philosophy, science, and even love.
If people are slogging away at an activity with little reward, they get annoyed and find themselves feeling bored. If something more engaging comes along, they move on. If nothing does, they may be motivated enough to think of something new themselves. The most creative people are known to have the greatest toleration for long periods of uncertainty and boredom.
The article's quite an interesting read. And it provides for some kind of justification to us perpetually-bored people. Go read it when you're bored. LOL.
Oh, speaking of interesting articles, I find THIS one even more interesting. The boy doesn't look old enough to be a dad. He's 13 for God's sake. Now I know why my dad decided to bring us back to Malaysia instead of growing up in Newcastle.
Oh yeah, I went for a lunch & karaoke session with Nat, Zaty, Yana and Chee on Valentine's! We went to the new Jusco in Setiawangsa/AU2. Chee decided to join us just for lunch cause she said that karaoke-ing wasn't really her thing.
Over lunch, we once again started feeling old cause we somehow ended up on the subject of relationships and marriage. Dah la it was like we subconsciously enter those topics. Urgh. I hate being old. I remember back in Form 5, our only worries were getting through SPM with flying colours. Now we have to think about jobs la, finance la, guys la. -_____________-
So anyways, after lunch, Nat, Zaty, yana and I went for karaoke at this place called Song Box in Jusco. The place was okay laa, looked kinda dodgy masa mula-mula sampai. We spent 2 hours there, wailing and screeching our lungs out. We managed to butcher songs from Womanizer to Isabella to Bring Me To Life. LOL.
And since Zaty had her camera with her, we have lots of videos that might not be uploaded because it might give a fright to our friends to listen to us butchering the songs. Although I think we sang Mr. Brightside quite nicely. It all depends on Zaty though, cause the videos are all with her.
Oh, by the way, I am now the Monash University Student Association's (MUSA) Advancement Representative. I've no idea about what I'll be doing, but apparently my first meeting is on Thursday, where hopefully I'll get a better understanding of my job as the MUSA Advancement Rep.
I needed to know where the meeting for Thursday would be held, so I went to the Monash website. It gave me some guilty pleasure to see my name up there in the committee. LOL.
Okiedokes, enough updates.
Toodles, people! =)
11:30 PM
Boredom can open the way to creativity; many ideas for art and invention came in a time of boredom, which can be a meditation. if you HATE boredom though, as many people do, see ThePowerOfBoredom.com especially check out the Elements of Interest category because they help you find satisfying elements to include in your most boring activities to make them more enjoyable. Yeah, it's my blog. I take an interest in boredom; that's how I found your post.