I just went to 5 different websites while trying to write that first paragraph. Case in point.
That being said, I was glad to read an article recently that makes a strong case for a state that's been classified, likely unfairly, as negative. No, New Jersey, I'm not about to defend you here (although someone really should... I mean, the armpit?!?... that's just mean).
"Boredom makes us look inward", says a professor quoted in the article. "It creates a fertile state for creativity and self-awareness and can even motivate you to help others. Plus, learning to cope when there's nothing to do is an important (and vanishing) skill." Do you ever find yourself in line, like I do, and whip out your phone? Is it a need to look important? Is it because we feel we have so much to do in life that wasting that 30 seconds or 2 minutes or what have you seems a crime? Do we feel more purposeful for "using" every available opportunity to task or multi-task?
In the "kid's" section: "We all need to learn to sit still with our thoughts in an unstimulating environment and not freak out." Kids, yes; but that sentence starts with we all, and our children are going to have a hard time learning this if we don't model it. That vacant space is not a dark abyss, it's a open canvas.
