When was the last time you were bored? No, think about it. I mean staring at the ceiling bored. I honestly can not remember.

It always feels as if we all must be doing something. If not busy doing something, then planning to do something. Then when we do stop and sit down, we either begin doom scrolling on our smartphones or binging a series on Netflix or worse, dual screening both.

Boredom seems to be considered a bad thing in the modern world. We all seem to be suffering from FOMO and must consume, consume, consume.

We are conditioned and ultimately forget the importance of boredom, especially when in the realm of creating. The imagination fills in the gaps when boredom creeps in creative juices begin to flow then stories are born.

I believe that the ever-accelerating advancement of technology is to blame for dousing our ability to be bored. Technology helps us in everyday life in every conceivable way and exponentially more entertaining with every year that passes. But truthfully, I believe it is stunting our creativity as human beings.

I am so thankful I grew up in a time when technology was still pretty basic. 16-bit games were a technological zenith, and social media meant reading the latest copy of Loaded with a group of mates in the playground. The luxury of being allowed to be bored and to daydream.

We are now seeing a steep rise in reboots of movies and TV shows and for me, this is a sure sign that we have forgotten how to be bored and how to create. But make no mistake losing that skill we gain to lose more than we think.

Fairy tales. Nursery rhymes and fables seem unimportant, but they hold guidance, hidden meanings, life lessons and warnings and heroes to look up to and aspire to be.

If we are not careful, the stories we create in the modern-day will be watered down and designed by an algorithm.

Many thousands of years ago, creatives were considered the most important people in their communities. Stories, songs, poems and paintings were sacred tools and moral compasses from which people learned and received guidance.

Storytelling played a critical role within a community historically and it still does. We seemed to have forgotten. I believe that we are on this planet for one reason to create.

If we lose the ability to create, boredom plays a key role. It is the very place where creation germinates.

Late in 2021, the IPCC reported that temperatures will rise by more than 1.5C in the next 20 Years, bringing cataclysmic Global weather conditions unless we do something drastic now to reduce emissions.

This is already happening. Leaving us wondering what world we are going to leave for our children. But, could we change ideals through fairy stories, fables? Will the modern-day Brothers Grimm emerge to warn about the dangers of greed and the destructive nature of the human ego so that a younger generation can have these wholesome qualities instilled in them at a young age?

We all know that our current system is broken and in desperate need of change, but I sincerely believe that change no longer will come from force or violence as this is to be expected.

It must come from a change in perception and ideals. More specifically, in the stories, we tell each other.

Maybe it is a forlorn hope that the world can change just through words and stories we tell each other and as John Lennon once sang - "Maybe I’m just a dreamer...but I’m not the only one”

Synopsis for my debut novel - Dylan McFinn & The Sea Serpent’s Fury

Dylan McFinn is an ordinary twelve-year-old with a keen nose for adventure, he lives deep under the Pacific Ocean with his Sea Captain Father and Lapatian Mother (or more commonly known...a Mermaid) in the ancient sunken fishing village Lapatia. For Dylan's birthday, the Sea Captain arranges for a surprise camping trip back to his home island Maloto.

Most teenagers get something memorable for their Thirteenth birthday, Dylan certainly did.

His surprise camping trip quickly unravels and reveals that he is the key to the return of an ancient evil deity and unless he chooses to accept his fate it will not only affect his future but the whole of the human race!

Can Dylan learn how to banish Kadavu the evil shark deity from the Pacific islands for good and save Maloto? All he wants to do now is to go home and see his Mum.

Find the book here