Boredom (Part I)

By Engr Carlos Cornejo

English dictionary defines it as state of being weary and restless for lack of interest.  Lack of interest because the usual everyday things that we do is repetitive and tedious and does not give us any form of excitement anymore.  The Book of Ecclesiastes defines it as “vanity of vanities” which means life is unmeaningful because “nothing is new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:1-3)

It is astonishing to note that we are the most informed generation, overwhelmed with so much data both worded and moving images but at the same time we are the most bored. The word boredom came only in the 20^th century which means no one was bored before the modern age because people were interacting with nature.

The culprit has been the digital information age or rather the wrong attitude towards it.  Instead of making it a tool or a means to a more noble end, it became an end in itself.  It’s like falling in love with the violin instead of the music which is the goal of the violin.

We are supposed to use the tool to get to the higher goal not making the tool or instrument itself as the goal.  That’s how ridiculous it is and yet many are falling into this trap.  That’s why many are bored.  The goal of information, the right information is useful knowledge and wisdom so as to practice virtues and be good persons.

The two things that we are never going to get bored with are knowledge and love.  These two corresponds to our innermost being of what makes us humans which is intellect and will.  Intellect which is our power to know or acquire knowledge and the will which is our power to choose.  These two makes us radically different from animals.

Animals only have sense knowledge which makes them driven only by feelings.  We humans also have sense knowledge like the animals but supposedly controlled by our intellect and will.  Unfortunately, we have brethren in our society who let their feelings rule over their intellect and will.  That’s when they get into trouble.

Letting feelings rule our behavior is the result of addictions, crimes against chastity, and boredom.  When we are just satisfying our senses (sense of touch, taste, hearing, seeing and smell) we will surely get bored, and worse it could get us into criminal trouble.

Only animals are meant to be happy with satisfying their senses but we humans are meant for higher things such as knowledge and love.

The correct goal of our intellect is knowledge and the correct action of our will is to love.  When we fulfill the right purposes of these two faculties of our soul, we are truly happy and not bored.

Knowledge is not limited to the things of these world such as science, culture, academics, politics, etc. although our interest should start in these areas but should go up higher to the knowledge of God and neighbor.

The purpose of knowing God and neighbor is not just for knowledge’s sake, but in order to love them.  Do you ever wonder why you never get bored with your best friend even if you have been with that person for so many years?  Because persons are inexhaustible.  We can’t even fully get to know ourselves, how much more knowing others.

In the case of your best friend, it is not just your deeper knowledge of him or her but most importantly your love for that best friend.  And we are not talking of God here yet, who is the Creator of persons.  When we start trying to know God through prayer and spiritual readings and eventually get to fall in love with Him, we experience this deep joy in the same way that we enjoy human relationships when we get to know more a person.

To conquer boredom, we need to become holy or a saint.  The philosopher Koren Kierkegaard calls a saint as someone who is a “knight of faith” who slays not dragons but a more formidable foe: time, ordinariness, and boredom.  A saint is never bored because his or her everyday life is offered up to God which includes his everyday work, duties, responsibilities to family and others even his or her recreation and rest.

Love is never boring and a saint is never short of the highest form of love which is the love of God.  When we make God the center of everything, He makes our ordinary everyday things take on a different view and vision.

Think of John doing the dishes for his beloved dream girl Susan. The used to be dreadful chore of dishwashing takes on a different hue and color because of love.  How much more impact when work is done for the love of God? “Behold I make all things new.”  (Revelation 21:5)