According to researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada, time really does pass more slowly for people who are prone to boredom. They are less accurate at estimating the duration of short intervals of time (2 seconds to 1 minute) than are those not prone to boredom. (For more info, please see http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2005/12/people-prone-to-boredom-less-able-to.html.)
But unless you’re in solitary confinement, I think boredom is a result of being disconnected from the world and/or yourself. It is a result of believing that there is nothing new or interesting in or around you. The world is so vast and complex that that is not possible!
The antidote is curiosity. I know, because I was one of the most easily bored children you can imagine. Here are some questions I ask myself when there’s “nothing to do”, like standing in line at the post office:
What is that person thinking? Can I see his/her aura?
How is that thing made?
How does that plant grow?
What would it be like to be that tree? Animal?
What the birds are saying to each other?
What is the emotional feeling tone of this place? Why?
How does the light affect the appearance of what I’m seeing?
Any one of these can lead off into many directions. And that’s without even asking myself questions about what’s going on inside me!
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