Sometime off in the distant future, after we’ve completed our merger with machines, I wonder if we’ll have the time to finally relax.
Time to just sit and think.
We sit in front of these screens, putting our thoughts into the world, seeking validation. Validation that our work is meaningful and using that validation to justify creating more.
And when we aren’t doing that?
We’re being entertained by the screens. Our minds never get a break. But, it needs it because some of our best thoughts come from being relaxed or bored. What will happen to our creativity when we merge with the machine and can’t relax anymore?
Every thought streaming to the internet, posting on some platform, for the whole world to see. Constantly curating ourselves for the hope of validation. Constantly worried about who we might offend. Hoping that someone else, anyone else, will like what we’re doing.
We already do this today but at least we have a safe space in our own minds. We have a place to think whatever we want, however we want, and then choose what to share to the world. We have a place to hide and be bored, not interacting with anything.
Being bored is a skill that so many people seem to lack. If you don’t believe, just look at your kids. Think back to when you were a kid, had three channels on the TV, and a whole summer full of nothing to fill with even more nothing.
I don’t long to have those days back but I do appreciate the ability to be bored. This is where my best thoughts come from. My best creativity come out of drifting away into that little out-of-focus space just inside your mind. You know the one where you don’t really hear the world immediately around you but you’re not asleep?
When I’m having trouble being creative, I take a break and go bore myself. It’s usually exercise or house chores. These things require no active thought. Turn on an exercise program, do what it says. Turn on a vacuum, move around. Remove dish from dishwasher, put in cabinet.
Honestly, the core of this blog post came while doing house chores. I think it struck while I was scooping cat poop out of a litter box and thinking about this picture. I wasn’t trying to come up with anything in particular, it just came to mind.
I’m not above being mindlessly entertained. When I’ve been working too much on this or my music, I like to sit back and watch TV or play video games. And if I were always busy creating my own art, I couldn’t take the time to appreciate everyone else’s work. There are a lot of amazing artists involved in those video games and movies.
Off in the distant future, when the merger starts, I’d consider merging with machines to make my life more convenient. Especially if it meant speeding up my ability to produce music or art. I can create more art and faster? Yes, please.
Wait, hold up. I can only sign up for this if there’s an off switch.
I just need to be bored sometimes.
Art by JL 
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