The Secret Gifts of Boredom

While recently waiting outside in a very long line to enter a show with my family, I noticed a sight that delighted my soul.  A young boy a few folks in front of us began jumping.  My curiosity piqued, I quietly observed for a bit.  I realized that every time the boy jumped, he was trying to hop over the shadows of passing cars, which moved quickly as they stretched long across the sidewalk, cast from the setting sun.  He had created his own one-player game that slightly resembled shadow tag to occupy himself while waiting.  I was refreshed to witness the secret gifts of boredom being unwrapped right in front of my eyes.  It would have been easy for the kiddo’s grown-ups to pacify him with a screen to make the wait time more bearable.  But instead, in the boredom of what may have appeared to be wasted, idling time, the boy seized an opportunity to create something meaningful, to imagine, and to play.  His happiness in the moment was evident, and I was inspired.  What might we discover if we follow this child’s lead and look for the hidden gifts of boredom rather than trying so hard to avoid it?