I spent lots of time over break playing the guitar and I started to feel intrinsically motivated to participate. If my plate were a little clearer, I think I could really invest a lot of time into playing. I love music and I love learning to play different songs. I've been honing in on Country Roads and Jolene because they both have basic chords and only 4 or 5 in the whole song. I started playing bar chords (Bm and F) with some proficiency but it takes me a while to position myself into the chord. My finger tips on my left hand continue to callous over.
This song exemplified the view of the one participant who never experienced boredom in Martin, Sadlo and Stew's (2006) study. This participant had a positive outlook on life, a developed sense of humor, and involvement in many interests. She lived in a ALF, which some in our culture would view as terrible - especially given the aging in place movement, but she positively adapted to it and was content to spend her days in her small room and occasionally visiting with family or out in the main lobby. Cantor and Sanderson (1999) quoted Brickman and Coate's 1987 work, that "happy people know what they want and are doing it." This describes the song perfectly. They singers are participate in activities they like to do. Cantor and Sanderson listed the idea of a "right way to participate" as a lingering issue in research. It is understood that different people carry different values and therefore participate in life differently depending on what is meaningful to them. The writer of the song incorporates activities that our society would consider as a waste of time and that was a concern of some participants in Martin, Sadlo and Stew's study - that they were wasting time. However, the writer of the song does not view them as a waste of time. It's all about perspective. Finally, the song jests about participating in solo activities that many people would find "boring." Participants in Martin, Sadlo, and Stew's study found being alone as a precursor to boredom. However, the writer of this song jokes about preferring to be alone and being content with that.
Wow Liz you and I though very similiarly for this blog! I really liked that you included the detail that the participant was able to avoid boredom while living in an assisted living facility. Even though we often connect those living situations to boredom it does not have to be because of individual perceptions. Love it! Right before I posted I remembered the line in the article that stated, "Boredom may arise from an overload of stimulation rather than from monotony." Do you agree with that statement and do you feel that there is a connection between it and the song?
ReplyDeleteI remember reading that about boredom arising from overload of stimulation and really questioning that point. What the paper described as boredom seemed to me as anxiety and inability to relax and shift out of sympathetic into parasympathetic and just be for a moment. I'm not sure how that connects to the song because the singers don't say the are or are not bored. It's just implied by friends that they should be. I suppose they are living in a way that avoids overstimulation (being around other people) and prefer solitary exploits that don't overstimulate. That's a good question!
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