Boredom: A spiritual problem for our common earth?

What has boredom to do with ecology?

Killing-time-strategies

Boredom can be said to be one of the profound marks of the European culture the last 250 years. A number of philosophers have dealt with it, and their diagnosis is that our culture bears deep symptoms of this quiet despair.

These days the climate panel has also issued another diagnosis about the future of the climate of our common home: The earth is lamenting. Yet, can there be a link between the state of our minds and the state of the earth? I think so, and I will try to demonstrate it.

Pascal and restlessness
The French philosopher Pascal (1623-1662) once said that, "When I have occasionally set myself to consider the different distractions of men, the pains and perils to which they expose themselves at court or in war, whence arise so many quarrels, passions, bold and often bad ventures, etc., I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber."

Time-killing
The problem of boredom is a problem of both time and space. For the bored person time appears too long (cf. Ger., Langeweile), and one starts developing strategies for "killing time". Moreover, time-killing goes often hand in hand with a hatred of the place, as described by Pascal. All in all, these problems are often symptoms of a much deeper problem: the problem of lack of meaning.

Emptiness and meaning
It belongs to our understanding of boredom the last centuries that it displays an existential problem: the problem of the meaning of life, and the accompanying sense of emptiness. Time becomes stressful if it does not convey sufficient meaning. And the place becomes irritating if it does not appear as good, meaningful, or joyful. Both seem, however, to generate a desire for entertainment, consumption, and travel. For the sake of entertainment, consumption and travel! The combination of restlessness and desire for consumption and movement seems to be intimately connected with a state of (deep) boredom.

Spiritual impetus for action
It can be argued that if boredom is coupled with the current discussion about human responsibility for the climate change, boredom can be described as a spiritual impetus for action that impacts the state of the earth negatively. This connection is not necessary, but given our patterns for transport and diversion, it becomes an actual connection. Excessive air travel and use of car as transportation means have been counted among the main factors behind the increased CO2 emissions. From the perspective of action, therefore, flying and driving can be seen as actual consequences of killing-time-strategies or strategies-for-place-escape.

What remains is the challenge to many of us who like to travel, and admittedly often do it out of a state of boredom: Can one possibly think of other means for alleviating the pain of this quiet despair of boredom?

This question is important for there is no simple way to exit the pain of boredom or the pain of the earth.

By Dr. Bård Mæland, Professor of Systematic Theology
School of Mission and Theology, Stavanger, Norway.