Inside a Black Hole

Yesterday, I didn't post to the blog. This was because I was trapped in a black hole. Time slowed down, the world around me vanished, and as much as I wanted to escape, I could see no way out.

Okay, that's an exaggeration. In truth, I just didn't feel like blogging. I was bored with it; it had little appeal. In truth, nothing about blogging had changed. I was still using the same laptop, writing on the same blog, doing everything that had been fun and exciting just days before. Something was different, not with the situation, but with me. My mental state was altered, and that is the root of boredom.

It is a common misconception that things can be boring. They cannot. People, however, can be bored. To be bored is not to be affected by a boring situation; rather, to be bored is an emotional state of being, akin to being tired, angry, or wanting of Recess Puff cereal. It has less to do with what is going on outside and much more to do with what is occurring within.

A person in a bored state will have a boring conversation with a companion while the same person, in a more interested state of mind, would have an energetic and worthwhile conversation with the very same friend. A bored person will imagine that the video game he is playing or the book he is reading is boring, when, in fact, were his emotions alternately arranged, the very same amusements could be enjoyed.

In fact, when someone is truly bored, everything will appear to be boring. To be bored is often not merely to be bored with one activity, but to bored altogether. When bored, not only do everyday chores and responsibilities seem unappealing, but one feels as though there is simply nothing to do. There is, of course, much to do; there are games to play, places to visit, people to see, work to complete, and blogs to write, but none of that seems to exist in the state of boredom. In boredom-ville, there is nothing to do.

If boredom merely consisted of disinterest, it might not be all that bad. People who were sick of giving time, giving energy, and were about to give up could take a break, take a vacation, or take a nap. But the tricky thing about boredom, the salt on the wound, so to speak, is that bored people have an unshakable desire to do something. They hate the fact that they are bored. Often, symptoms include shouting, "I'm bored!" or "There's nothing to do!" The bored individual yearns to be satisfied, but, alas, cannot, regardless of what one is doing.

Boredom is simultaneously the inability and desire to be content. It's a self-feeding cycle, a black hole of emotion which grows more massive as its gravity sucks in more mass. The more desire, the more difficult the fulfillment; the more the inability, the greater the need.

So, how is boredom cured? Many afflicted consume an overdose of television in an attempt to end the suffering, either through relaxation or destruction of brain cells. Others attempt to shock themselves back to life with amusement parks or extreme sports, but, when combined with boredom and disinterest, these treatments can often lead to nausea, unbuckled harnesses, and broken bones.

The only thing to be done for boredom is to do something productive, whether you like it or not. It will not actually cure the condition, but later, once the felling has passed on its own, you will have less things you need to get done, and you will be able to enjoy your time doing things for fun. Besides, when you look back on your work, you'll feel good about yourself and what you've accomplished, and you'll be less likely to be bored again.

Just remember: you don't have "nothing" to do. You have lots to do. Start doing it, and you'll begin chipping away at the black hole. The inability will dissipate, and the desire will begin to be satisfied. Eventually, the swirling mass will implode on itself, releasing light and time, and anything else that might have been trapped, temporarily, in the swirling mass of boredom.