“Boredom” by Jack Lindsey - Bethany Lutheran Church

Jack Lindsey is the current “Past-President” at Bethany. He has graciously agreed to share some of his past devotional writings on this site.

This week’s note: After these weeks of much reduced opportunities this week’s column seemed timely again.

“Be still, and know that I am God …” – (Psalm 46:10)

“Are we there yet?” is a familiar phrase to many parents – as is the plaintive cry, “I’m borrred!”. Boredom is a challenge that children (and some adults) in many families struggle with, and often our popular culture condemns boredom with an earnestness that rivals that of an impatient child on a long car trip. It is as if we are fearful of those “spaces between the activities”. And it is true; there are situations where boredom is a very unpleasant feeling.

But should we fill up all the spaces in the day? U.S. poet Billy Collins wrote, “Boredom is paradise. It is the blessed absence of what the world offers as ‘interesting’, i.e., the lures of fashion, media and other people …” Many philosophers have written about the idea that spirituality can blossom within those times that we are not otherwise occupied. And there are many, many instances of boredom leading to a thing we very much value in our society: creativity.

There is a wonderful website that explores this issue of boredom and children, Spark Action. One article, The Benefits of Boredom,” discusses boredom in the context of the times that Luther was creating our tradition, the middle ages. Consider this passage: “In medieval times … if someone displayed the symptoms we now identify as boredom, that person was thought to be committing something called acedia, a "dangerous form of spiritual alienation” that devalued the world and its creator. Who had time for such self-indulgence, what with plague, pestilence and the labor of survival? Acedia was considered a sin.” (http://sparkaction.org/content/benefits-boredom)

This is not to say that we should ignore our children’s need for structure and activity. Social and physical activities promote healthy development in children. But as part of raising self-sufficient and happy people it may be that helping them integrate some quiet moments into their day has value. The author of the website article quoted above, Richard Louv, columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune, talks about “nurturing constructive boredom”. Louv concludes his article by saying, “Most of all, children need adults in their lives who understand the relationship between boredom and creativity — and are willing to set the stage so that kids can create the play.

Peace and health – JL