Boredom
by Louis Jenkins
by Louis Jenkins
Nowadays I am seldom bored. There simply isn't time. Not
because I am so busy, it's just that time passes more quickly
as one gets older. Boredom that once lasted hours is now
compacted, concentrated, so that one can experience hours
of boredom in a few seconds. Intense boredom that causes
one to nod off....But only for five minutes. Or has it been
an hour? Well, time is relative. Like that distant relative
who used to be me, plodding home after school in a day-
dream, in a fog, so that each time he wakes he finds himself
standing on the same red ant hill or running, side aching,
breathless, for miles in the wrong direction with the
murderous Willard brothers right behind.
because I am so busy, it's just that time passes more quickly
as one gets older. Boredom that once lasted hours is now
compacted, concentrated, so that one can experience hours
of boredom in a few seconds. Intense boredom that causes
one to nod off....But only for five minutes. Or has it been
an hour? Well, time is relative. Like that distant relative
who used to be me, plodding home after school in a day-
dream, in a fog, so that each time he wakes he finds himself
standing on the same red ant hill or running, side aching,
breathless, for miles in the wrong direction with the
murderous Willard brothers right behind.
Robert Coles said, "We
should look inward and think about the meaning of our life and its purposes,
lest we do it in 20 or 30 years and it's too late."
" I remember Joanne and I
talking about the luck part--that we were both lucky to be born into the
families and the times that we were. Now those circumstances (families
hers and mine) were very different in many ways: from religion (but not
the importance of religion, that was very similar) to location (in my case
never too far from the farm, in her case town, city and foreign travel etc.)
But what was the central thread? Parents that valued women's
education. And that made all the difference in many ways. We talked
about that with great gratitude to our good fortune.
There are so politically
charged efforts today in places where women's education is not only not valued
but actually suppressed with vigor. When I think of this all in
perspective, that cause seems quite valuable indeed." MJV
When I came across the poem about boredom I wondered "When was the last time I was bored?" There's too much stirring in my mind, too much to do, too much to experience to be bored. Perhaps that's a function of my age. Or, maybe the blessings that surround me...but boredom, nope.
Then came MJV's email reflections on her time with Joanne. Joanne was blessed with wonderful parents and part of their blessing on her was their value in her education. It's good to think about that. Then, too, any reflections about Joanne means much to me. MJV and Joanne enjoyed deep relationship and those connections are always gift.
Robert Cole "...meaning of our life..." Even in the land of grief life has meaning and that is good.
Takk for alt,
Al
When I came across the poem about boredom I wondered "When was the last time I was bored?" There's too much stirring in my mind, too much to do, too much to experience to be bored. Perhaps that's a function of my age. Or, maybe the blessings that surround me...but boredom, nope.
Then came MJV's email reflections on her time with Joanne. Joanne was blessed with wonderful parents and part of their blessing on her was their value in her education. It's good to think about that. Then, too, any reflections about Joanne means much to me. MJV and Joanne enjoyed deep relationship and those connections are always gift.
Robert Cole "...meaning of our life..." Even in the land of grief life has meaning and that is good.
Takk for alt,
Al
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