Read an interesting book recently, The Geography of Bliss, by Eric Weiner, a self described grump in search of the happiest places in the world. He travels to The Netherlands, Switzerland, Bhutan, Qatar, Iceland, Moldova, Thailand, Great Britain, India and America asking inhabitants if they are happy and the source of their happiness. The countries were selected for specific reasons which was alone was interesting, and what he discovered enlightening, even if much of it was not new, or news. A constant theme which probably wont come as a surprise is that geography is not the root of happiness, although it is wildly entertaining to read about how people respond to climate, culture and tradition and its impact on the notion of happiness. One passage which I found particularly instructive was penned while the author was in Switzerland, a country generally understood to be quite happy, but also boring! Heres what he had to report about the relationship between boredom and happiness; A certain amount of boredom is essential to a happy life. Patience and boredom are closely related. Boredom is really impatience. You dont like the way things are, they arent interesting enough for you, so you decide-and boredom is a decision-that you are bored. A generation that cannot endure boredom will be a generation of little men and women, unduly divorced from the slow process of nature, men and women in whom every vital impulse slowly withers as though they were cut flowers in a vase. The author shares the example of Einstein, who found his time living in Bern, Switzerland extremely boring, but asks, if Einstein had found his time with the Swiss more interesting, might he have never day dreamed as much as he did? Might he have never developed the Theory of Relativity? Why do I share this? To challenge you, me, to shift our thoughts around whats possible to create when we feel bored, and to view boredom as a choice. We can choose to find inspiration from boredom or we can choose to complain. Which will you choose?
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 13:40:12 +0000
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