I have always suffered from the opposite of boredom. Sit me in an empty room, and after I have admired the emptiness, the imperfection of the walls and the silence for a while, I will start to read the labels inside my clothes. After that I will explore my memories, replay the cinema in side my head and then hold a conversation with myself, or even with someone else. This is a silent conversation, of course, I come from a time when only lunatics and drunks spoke out loud to themselves. Nowadays you also have to include people with Bluetooth earpieces.
I don’t think I’m unique in this, I’m sure many people reading this will also do the same. Well, maybe the voices aren’t quite normal, but so far they haven’t made me do anything bad and as I’m typing this in my dining room rather than a secure unit it’s safe to say I am normal enough to get away with it.
When I think about it I don’t remember being bored for at least 40 years, and that was only while I was at work. I nurtured the ability to think about other things whilst doing repetitive jobs, and I was never bored again.
This is one of the reasons I don’t listen to much music. I’ve never really listened to the radio or tapes in the car (which dates me, doesn’t it?) because I’ve normally had plenty to occupy my mind (including driving!). When I was gardening I bought a cheap MP3 player and tried listening to that while I was doing things like cutting long hedges but after the first couple of days I never used it. Music distracts me from thinking, and I’m quite happy just thinking.
That’s probably why I’ve been happy in lockdown. It’s suited me, to be honest.
So, the big question of the day – what goes on inside your head? And are you prepared to admit it?
As a supplementary question – who is humming the Peter Sarstedt song as they read this?
Ghostly Head
Good to know I’m not alone in being able to occupy myself with my thoughts.
I listen to music when I decide to listen to a specific song or in the car, where I do enjoy it, but I would never have it on as background. I learned somewhere that this is yet another difference in brain situation. Some people can apparently concentrate better with background music (or other sound).
Yes, I know people who need noise to relax or concentrate, but it’s just a distraction for me. I always thought it was a sign that I was anti-social. 🙂
😊
One of the great songs. At the moment my head is filled with images of you reading the labels on your clothes. I’m not telling you about every other 7 seconds.
The trick with clothing is to take it off to read the labels, though you have to make a number of decisions based on context and the possibility of being arrested.
Over the years my thinking has moved from seven second intervals to lengthier times, and the thoughts are based more on memory and less on ambition. 🙂
Sound thinking, Quercus 🙂
🙂
I have to say I am quiet happy with my own company and now we are back at work and not just working from home I am missing it.
This mirrors my thoughts on the matter too. We are clearly so interesting we don’t need anyone else. 🙂
I have plenty of time to get potentially bored while out cycling for hours by myself but like you, i have a lot of internal conversations. My favourites are probably the ones where I demolish politicians and other notables by forensic cross examination in which oddly enough, they always give exactly the right answer for me to win the argument.
Sounds like an excellent way to pass the time, and a tribute to your interrogation technique.
Omg I need my head to stop sometimes. I’m always thinking about something…..it never shuts down. I get these random notions and then I jot them down and they either become morning pages or dinner conversation or blog posts….but I do wish I had an off switch
Sometimes it would be nice to have some time off. 🙂
Tell me about it….
You are one of the lucky bunch!
I would have to agree to that. 🙂
The link is not working for me, but I would bet it is Peter Sarstedt’s “Where Do You Go To My Lovely”. Now it is humming in my head, and stuck there for the time being. 🙂
Rick and I saw a good documentary last night called “Alive Inside – A Story of Music & Memory”. It is well worth the watching if you can get it. There are clips from it on YouTube, from the Sundance Film Festival in 2014. Here is Wiki link to it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alive_Inside:_A_Story_of_Music_and_Memory
You would win your bet. 🙂
I have, I hope, fixed the link.
Link works now. That is a great song, the one he is best known for. He has an interesting history of his own.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sarstedt
Yes, an interesting family – three one hit wonders.
Haunting pictures! Like you, I am not bored, but I do need to hear what others are thinking. Thank God for blogs and podcasts, which add plenty of grist for the mill.
Yes. I always liken reading blogs to the feeling I get when I look into back gardens during a train journey.
Good analogy!