“If sleep is the apogee of physical relaxation, boredom is the apogee of mental relaxation. Boredom is the dream bird that hatches the egg of experience. A rustling in the leaves drives him away. His nesting places—the activities that are intimately associated with boredom—are already extinct in the cities and are declining in the country as well. With this the gift for listening is lost and the community of listeners disappears. For storytelling is always the art of repeating stories, and this art is lost when the stories are no longer retained. It is lost because there is no more weaving and spinning to go on while they are being listened to.” —Walter Benjamin, from “The Storyteller,” Illuminations, P. 91
(All of these photos were tagged “boredom” or “weaving” or “spinning” on Flickr and are all from the Creative Commons. Please click on photos for photographer credits.)
