In a post on a new “humans first” weblog started by Jeneane Sessum (the originator of other weblogs such as Gonzo Engaged and Blog Sisters), Tom Matrullo says
Here’s a human thing: boredom. Ennui. acedia. Spleen. taedium vitae. It is a great teacher and rewards study. If humans saw more deeply into ennui, perhaps they would have less tolerance for that which kills the spirit.
Existential ennui. Diminished spirit. Borrrredddommm. What happens to us that we find ourselves here? Of course, what I mean is, what’s happening to me that I find myself here? I am bored with dancing. Bored with writing about dancing. Bored with reading the kinds of novels I’ve always loved. Bored with the people I know (except for my kids; they have never bored me and I doubt if they ever will).
My dreams take place in complex worlds that seem more real and much less boring than my waking times. My dreams are like watching Lifetime television from 8 to 11 every Sunday night — all of those women struggling to stay healthy, stay ethical, stay compassionate, stay authentic, stay loving, stay alive. Stay Alive.
I used to find the world around me inexhaustibly engaging. Maybe it’s that I’m now finding the world around me frighteningly alienating. Is it age? Is it the Age?
Maybe it’s not boredom. Maybe it’s the fear of/the feeling of being surrounded, overwhelmed by the inhuman. Maybe one of the human responses to feeling inhumanly alienated is to retreat into boredom. Into watching Lifetime television from 8 to 11 on Sundays. And Buffy. And Alias. And Judging Amy and Crossing Jordan and………