I used to claim I never get bored. It is still mostly true. I am a learning junkie.

Lately, I have hit a plateau where I know exactly how much I don’t know. And I’m okay with that.

Boring has always struck me as a type of laziness. The world is far too vast and interesting and diverse to never have something to explore. For awhile.

I traveled extensively internationally and within North America. Traveling has the advantage that if boredom does hit, you likely have a lot of options to occupy your time. Museums. Art galleries. Sidewalk cafes. Restaurants. People watching.

Lately my learning journey has turned more inward. I feel myself swinging toward slowing down and more deliberate learning. A harvest of sorts.

My interest is spending more time deepening what I already know. As has happened so many times in my life, the exact words came along that capture this feeling.

Poet Wendy Cope pretty much captures how I’m feeling these days. Being boring ain’t so bad.

Being Boring

by Wendy Cope

‘May you live in interesting times,’ Chinese curse

“If you ask me ‘What’s new?’, I have nothing to say
Except that the garden is growing.
I had a slight cold but it’s better today.
I’m content with the way things are going.
Yes, he is the same as he usually is,
Still eating and sleeping and snoring.
I get on with my work. He gets on with his.
I know this is all very boring.

There was drama enough in my turbulent past:
Tears of passion-I’ve used up a tankful.
No news is good news, and long may it last.
If nothing much happens, I’m thankful.
A happier cabbage you never did see,
My vegetable spirits are soaring.
If you’re after excitement, steer well clear of me.
I want to go on being boring.

I don’t go to parties. Well, what are they for,
If you don’t need to find a new lover?
You drink and you listen and drink a bit more
And you take the next day to recover.
Someone to stay home with was all my desire
And, now that I’ve found a safe mooring,
I’ve just one ambition in life: I aspire
To go on and on being boring.