From a post in the NY Times on Ben Franklin by Maira Kalman called "Can Do." Here's a quick excerpt:
"I don't think he was ever bored. He saw a dirty street and created a sanitation department. He saw a house on fire and created a fire department. He saw sick people and founded a hospital. He started our first lending library. He saw people needing an education and founded a university. He started the American Philosophical Society where men and women shared developments in science. And then, by the way, he helped create and run the country. He was a signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution."
Commentary below is not mine:
I love this for the opening line - "I don't think he was ever bored." Boredom is a decision we make, not something happens to us. There really is no excuse for being bored. The "bored" of the world are those who believe it is the job of others to make them happy and keep them entertained. But as far as I am concerned "boredom" is simply laziness in all its forms and is simply driven by the decision to not pay attention.
I am not an inventor as Franklin was and I don't think you have to be to escape boredom. But you can be a learner. A learner is never bored, an inquisitive person who pays attention to the world and people around him can always find something to engage his attention.
The experience of "boredom" says far more about the one claiming to be bored than about the speaker, the event or whatever the alleged cause of the boredom.
Sightings around the Homestead
13 years ago
4 comments:
It seems you are a bit harsh on the bored. There are many excuses for being bored and it is not always a decision people make. Boredom is insufficient stimulation in the brain so that there are enough feel-good chemicals to be comfortable or engaged. What creates this stimulation is different for each individual. Everyone has different Elements of Interest, it's not one size fits all. One excuse for being bored is that what a person needs is not allowed. The child or adult who needs physical action to get enough stimulation in the brain and must sit 6 -9 hours a day at a desk, mostly immobile, is going to be bored. Someone who needs to be learning new things or solving problems (like Ben Franklin) to be engaged is going to be bored in a routine job he's mastered long ago. People with ADHD require more stimulation than most, much more; in fact the hyperactivity often associated with it is an effort to create more stimulation of the brain just to feel comfortable. Those without hyperactivity are often called lazy, but they are really lacking the chemicals they need. Then there is the genetic factor: some people are easily bored or boredom prone, others are not. There is help for boredom in many situations. Overcoming boredom is a skill more than a decision. If you are never bored, congratulations. I'd like to see a little bit of empathy for people who are not so lucky. For more insight into boredom, see ThePowerOfBoredom.com
I want to add that the poster said, "the commentary below is not mine" (a statement I lost sight of) so please let me amend my comment above to say the person who wrote the commentary seems a bit harsh, not "you". The point that an inquisitive person who always wants to learn is never bored is often true; still in environments less than conducive to inquiry and learning or whatever turns you on, boredom beating takes some skills not everyone has.
Thanks Letitia for reading my blog. Letitia is right in pointing out that me, the blog owner, did not make the comment below the Ben Franklin quote. She is also right in the points she makes in her commentary. There are imposed reasons for boredome that are not the fault of the person who is bored. I'm hoping that the initial commentary and my silent commentary that's there just by virtue of my posting it, was more a reflection of our culture - the average person - with no such conditions being imposed upon them. I agree that it does sound a bit pompous when it should be full of empathy for those who may not have been given the tools for learning the remedy for boredom. For that, I regret posting it as is. Still, barring those imposed circumstances, if one is free to choose and finds oneself "bored" perhaps it would be helpful to consider Ben's thoughts on the subject - that boredom is not typically a cause outside of ourselves but an innacurate belief we hold about the way life and reality are. By boredome, I doubt Ben would say that laying in the grass all day watching clouds go by equaled boredom. It is more a matter of how we see things. Again, Letitia, thanks for your thoughtful reply.
susan and family,
the garden in the pictures reflect a field of much work and love.
Ben Franklin was a doer, saw the problem and addresed the problem with a solution. Too many people see the problem and merely complain,or present the problem without any means of solution, it is that rare individual that brings forth the solution, out of boredom, I dont know more out of thought of how to fix it I would think, either way thank-you for reminding me where we would be today if not for ole Ben
Post a Comment