Grugger’s Way

Retirement Danger FIVE is Boredom!  So… who isn’t bored from time to time?

But Boredom becomes a “danger” when:  I can’t find a reason to get up in the morning because I just face another boring day.  When I can’t be bothered to shower and shave because I have no reason to anymore.  When I read the morning newspaper in five minutes and toss it aside because “There’s nothing interesting in it anymore.” When I realize it is 5 pm and I am still in pajamas and slippers because I have no reason to go outside. When I feel anxiety because I am disconnected from my spouse for the next eight hours. When I fall asleep after reading a book for ten minutes because it’s boring. When I am ready for bed by 9 pm.  (Now wait, that could be due to exhaustion, or maybe I still appreciate being married.)

The fact of the matter is: if you are experiencing the symptoms listed above, you are not just bored, you are quite possibly clinically depressed, and could benefit by some professional help.   No one should simply tell you to “cheer up,” “get interested in something,” “get out there and DO something,” or “get over it and get on with life.”  Nope.  That’s not a solution.  Not for depression.  Each and every time I visit my doctor, she asks me if I am having trouble sleeping or think I am sleeping too much; if there have been any recent deaths of friends or family; if I am still interested in sex; if I am still having sex; what programs I enjoy on television; if I am still practicing yoga (one day she got on the floor and demonstrated an “asana” for me to relieve lower back pain, and had me get on the floor with her…she’s a good doctor and she works at a Veteran’s Affairs (VA) clinic.  She listens to my answers and evaluates whether I am bored (or depressed).  I understand what she is doing and why.  I trust her now, and I tell her the truth.

I guess I am fortunate in that I haven’t faced boredom or any of the above “warning signs,” (at least not yet).  But I also sometimes think that I rather enjoy just being bored; not bored with life, but free to explore my internal world, now that I am not so crazily involved in all the external distractions of surviving a career, co-workers, the telephone, the traffic, (I HATED commuting) etc.  So when I begin to fall into that “my life is now so dull” mode, I quickly change my mindset and think about how much I enjoy being bored now, and free from all the “excitement” that used to fill my day with other people’s BS. 

This “lollygagging” around time may lead to wonderful new discoveries about me…and what is more important in really enjoying later years than having the time to discover what I really missed out on in not knowing myself better.   

So…perhaps boredom can lead to creativity.  I might fill my “boring” hours with painting, writing, gardening, photography, yoga, jogging, fishing, golf, calligraphy, learning a new language, playing with the dogs, fighting with the cats (oh, I did that anyway).  I even take a measure of pleasure in this new thing, “blogging.”

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