This holiday season, give yourself the gift of boredom. You might be surprised. | Opinion
For many people I know, me included, 2023 has been a collection of happy and tragic events. People have celebrated new heights as well as mourned and cried at very deep lows. If you’ve read my last op-ed, you know I’ve had my first ever major surgery, but I also got to see one of my favorite artists—an R&B singer named Melanie Fiona—in concert after having tickets for but having to miss previous concerts of hers twice. And on the eve of a new year, I’ve been thinking about ways to characterize this extremely difficult but also celebratory year I’ve had and perhaps provide me with some direction for next year. If you’re not one of those people who likes reflection or considering what lessons the year has taught you, you might still find something noteworthy from the music and ideas that has been animating my thoughts recently.
André 3000, known as part of the duo Outkast, recently released his first solo album— “New Blue Sun.” In a video interview with GQ he explains the album, his inspiration for the music, and reflects on his career making several of the best-selling rap albums of all time. His new album however is not rap music. It is perhaps the farthest jump from the music he has made previously than any artist. I wouldn’t call myself a wind-instrument listener and definitely not a player so I cannot share whether the music is good, however I think “New Blue Sun” and Mr. 3000’s interview remind me that in a world filled with hustle, work, struggle, pain, and tears, we should aspire not to fame or even to success, but to boredom.
He says, when journalist Zach Baron presses him to explain why he doesn’t rap anymore, “timing and momentum is more important than talent.” He is one of the most talented rappers but does not feel that he has something worth saying. He jokes that at 48, no one wants to hear about him having to get a colonoscopy or his eyesight going bad. He explains that he has shifted to native flutes and creating through painting and writing to better reflect the life that he wants and the connection to art and nature that he craves. In some ways, he is probably the most excellent that one can possibly be at something and yet he was bored. He seemingly grew bored with the chaos of celebrity and the lack of connection he felt to what he was creating, and has found peace by (in his words) “being a baby at something” and doing something he had no intentional outcome for.
Journalist Manoush Zomorodi agrees with Mr. 3000’s method for using boredom and creativity in her 2017 TedTalk. She explains that we as humans need to be bored to activate our brains most creative areas and that our best ideas come about when we allow ourselves to turn our brain off and space out. I know I have experienced some of my most profound ideas in the shower or washing the dishes. Think about your own life: when was the last time you were truly bored? I don’t mean scrolling and therefore bored with the options ahead of you or tuning out the conversation you’re supposed to be having with someone. I also don’t mean multitasking during a meeting and therefore making yourself “more” productive. I also don’t mean while listening to music or a podcast? When was the last time you allowed yourself not to produce or to study, or even to browse other people’s posts, videos, blogs, shows, or pinterest boards?
This holiday season give yourself the gift of boredom. Perhaps we can find solace in being a baby at being bored and create new ways of being, new directions for our lives and our families, or learn new activities we love like Mr. 3000. Your newfound boredom might just be the key to unlocking what 2024 has to offer. If you need a goal for 2024 that I know you can achieve, here it is: be bored.
Aria Halliday is an associate professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, African American and Africana Studies and International Film Studies at the University of Kentucky and the author of “Buy Black: How Black Women Transformed US Pop Culture.”
