At first in lockdown, I found the increased boredom hard to take. I felt too safe. I chafed against the sameness of everything and longed for a bit more excitement.
Decades ago, a very wise man – his name was Arthur North – brilliantly defined happiness for me. He explained that it is found somewhere along the continuum between boredom and fear. That point is different for everyone, and it can be different for different parts of your life. Some people, perhaps those with a more conservative view, are happier at a point closer to boredom. Others, perhaps with a more radical perspective, prefer to be closer to fear.
Over the years, I have realised that, given my peripatetic and unpredictable work, I am most comfortable in my professional life when I am closer to fear than to boredom. I like the stimulation and excitement of doing different things all the time. It struck me recently how much this illustration of how happiness works with our experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus was and is fearful, it is dangerous for all of us and has been fatal for some, especially pre-vaccination.Our response to the awful uncertainty of exposure to a new and – at first – uncontrollable pathogen was to dial up the boredom big time. We all literally retreated inside.
Slowly, however, I found I didn’t need the neurotic stimulation of free-floating anxiety. Instead, I discovered that prolonged boredom can create its own excitement.Every morning, my husband and I ate breakfast on our verandah. The crumbs that fell from our toast began to attract the birds. First, it was the bravest of the brave: a female superb blue wren we called Juliet. She began to bring her flashy partner, whom, of course, we dubbed Romeo. Then a trio of grey thrushes.
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