I am reading the book “the conquest of happiness” by Bertrand Russell, and for some reason, one particular sentence struck a chord within me this evening.

Boredom is therefore a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it

This society that we live in, slathered in affluence and ennui. What chance do we have? How many of our vices exists simply due to the fact that we are bored? The common phrase you hear about American marriages is that half of them end in divorce. The number one cause of divorce is extra-marital affairs. How many of these affairs are born out of boredom? Affairs allow one to use their imagination. The tediousness of marriage is obscured by that radiant glow of passion and romance and secrecy. It’s like a game in many instances. How far can I go before I am caught? One is bolstered by the idea that they share a secret with one other person that no one else can know about. There is a certain thrill in placing your entire life onto a precipice and watching as is teeters back and forth. Even the knowledge of the destruction it could cause is dampened by the excitement of it all. Alcohol, gambling, drugs. How many people indulge in these vices simply because they are so dissatisfied with their own lives?

Russell even suggests that  ”Wars, pogroms, and persecutions have all been part of the flight from boredom, even quarrels with neighbors have been found better than nothing.” I have friends who feel they must constantly be on the go. They loathe boredom, complacency. They despise those moments alone, silent moments when they are forced to look at themselves and see that they are sprinting in a race they can not win. Happiness is not brought about by constant movement, nor is it kept at bay by inertia. The people who drink to avoid inertia become over-indulgers and ultimately their lives do become nothing but inert as their only goal becomes feeding their habit. The same can be said for gamblers and drug users. The adulterers ultimately find that the excitement from an elicit affair can not last forever. Now, they find themselves faced with a reminder of their infidelity, or, if they are caught, they are emotionally and financially decimated. Quarrels often end in bloodshed. And the thrill seekers often find that they have bit off more than they can chew.

I am not above the fray, that fight against ennui. I struggle with it myself, especially now that I am in my thirties. When you are young, you have time to dream and you are still idealistic enough to believe that your dreams can come true. As you get older, your dreams and your destiny are no longer synonymous terms. They are two entities staring each other down. You begin to wonder if they can co-exist. On some days, it seems your dreams don’t have a chance and destiny tells you that your new friend is mediocrity. And that is when the boredom creeps in. Mediocrity is an annoying companion. Not at all encouraging like your dreams. Your dreams are always ahead of you, beckoning you to follow. Mediocrity is right beside you, telling you to go back to sleep.

Russell suggests that a quiet life occasionally interrupted by brief moments of excitement is the ideal life for man. Too much excitement “dulls the palate for every kind of pleasure”. How can you appreciate life if you are always trying to outrun it? The quiet moments are perfect times for introspection. Instead of moments of boredom, they can be moments of  epiphany. Great novels, music scores, works of art. At what moments were these accomplishments achieved?

As Russell concludes and I concur:

A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy can live.