Boredom146;s great

For most school kids in the country, it8217;s vacation time now. Which takes me back to those two months of lazing around as a kid.

For most school kids in the country, it8217;s vacation time now. Which takes me back to those two months of lazing around as a kid. Of course, there were the creamy mango shakes and cold coffees to be whipped up, home made icecreams and cakes to be devoured, and the occasional TV programme to keep one busy.

While bed-time would stretch into early noon, evenings were reserved for the mandatory games of hide and seek, badminton, or long walks with friends. Alas, a good part 8212; albeit, towards the end 8212; would have to be spent on the much-abhorred 8220;homework8221;.

All play and no work would, however, bother the parents 8212; especially mother, who would have to attend to us at home. So once she tried to pack me and my sibling off to an art class. The experiment lasted a week. All in all, though, vacations were a time for recuperating from school; of just being on one8217;s own and doing nothing. Or, to put it another way, pursuing boredom.

When I recently read about Dr Richard Ralley8217;s research on boredom, I couldn8217;t have felt more vindicated. According to this professor at Britain8217;s Edge Hill University, boredom 8212; especially in times of vacation 8212; is good for kids, as it helps conserve energy and gears them up for the tough session ahead. Ergo, kids should be left to their own devices.

But come summer and I see parents frantically figuring out which hobby class to send their kids to. With parents in tow, kids are hopping from golf to art to theatre and music classes. And age seems to be no bar. Even one-and-a-half-year olds are enrolled at art class!

In this instant coffee, instant gratification age, everyone seems to be forgetting the importance of ruminating 8212; of watching the world go by, of just standing around and staring. Forget kids, even adults don8217;t appreciate the feeling of 8220;doing nothing8221;. Left to our own without work, we begin to feel unproductive, and this seems to depress us.

Time then to seriously consider the joys of boredom. And, who knows, it may even make life more meaningful. For starters, let8217;s circulate more copies of Ralley8217;s work out here.

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