The Cure for Boredom is Ice Cream

"Everyone is a bore to someone. That is unimportant. The thing to avoid is being a bore to oneself." Gerald Brenan

I hate it when the dog days of summer are here, and it’s only May. That’s another way of saying, “I’m bored.” 

Usually I’m not bored. Life is good and there is plenty to do, but every so often my brain and body go on strike; production ceases; living color takes on faded, dreary, sepic tones; chewing gum takes on the texture and flavor of synthetic rubber that’s been masticated all day long.

I have to be careful. I learned at an early age never to let my parents know I was bored. If my demeanor ever looked like it was going to wilt or turn listless, my mother could immediately find a thousand and one alternatives to address a state of boredom. As vapid as I might feel, it was critical to feign a case of hyperactive-kinetic-ADHD and go melt into nothingness someplace else far away and out of sight. 

It’s not that I was lazy, but Mom’s go-to-solution in the war on childhood lethargy was to either have them weed the flowerbeds or mow the lawn. Our lawn mower was people powered – it had no gasoline engine or electric motor. It was a reel mower that hadn’t been oiled since the days of Moby Dick, with blades so dull they would only beat grass into submission, rather than actually cutting the wiry agropyron that tried to pass for grass. We’d have been better off raising sheep or goats (although cleaning up after them would have been less pleasant than pushing our mechanical lawn muncher).

As for the weeds, they were the only thing in the flowerbeds that could be classified as flora anyway, so why pull them? Everything else was just sand and rocks, and the weeds’ roots clung to the boulders so tightly that pulling them would have eroded the lot upon which our house sat to such a degree that if I’d pulled all the weeds as requested, we’d have ended up homeless!

Fortunately, bouts of boredom were pretty unusual. My siblings and I grew up in a neighborhood with a fair number of kids our age, so we managed to find a variety of things to do to keep ourselves occupied. If they weren’t around, my brother and I would either hop on our bikes or catch the cross-town bus and hang out at Greenlake to the east or Golden Gardens to the west. Either option took a fair amount of peddling and effort, and the rewards upon arriving were delightful, what with ice cream cones for a dime, or shaved ice with fruity-flavored syrup for a nickel.

Boredom is a state of mind, really. I don’t mind relaxing, and for the most part I would describe my quiet periods as times of contentment more than boredom. I like keeping busy, being creative, and yes, I don’t kick or scream too badly when there is a little yardwork to be done (underscoring the word “little”). There is satisfaction to be had in tackling a task or two, finishing them, and then finding something fun and rewarding to do in celebration. Ice cream still hits the spot!

One of the challenges of adulting is having and taking responsibility for one’s own decisions and choices. When I’m bored, it is seldom because I have nothing to do, but because I’ve let go of other things that are important – creative things like prayer, meditation, connecting in meaningful ways with others, or exploring the world and my place in it. God created us to be human beings, rather than human doings, but that doesn’t mean it's ok to be do-nothings. We need to stay connected, and we need to be connected, and that takes being actively present.

I suspect Jesus was never bored. My guess is that whenever we see him jump up and tell the disciples they need to get moving, it wasn’t boredom that motivated him (or getting away from Momma Mary), but curiosity. “I wonder what God is doing over there,” could easily have been his guiding light. Perhaps it could be ours as well here in this, our valley. Now, fold up your newspaper and go have some ice cream!

Keith Axberg writes on matters concerning life and faith. Author of: Who the Blazes is Jesus? Good News for a Vulgar World (available through Amazon in Print and e-book)