The Phantom Tollbooth

How did I become 51 years old without reading Norton Juster's Phantom Tollbooth? I've ordered it and look forward to this timeless (1961) classic. I still appreciated the wisdom from this literary giant. He said, "Boredom is not an unmixed blessing." This is what helped him write his book. I think of all the years I spent trying to keep my children from being bored. A mistake? Possibly.

He also told us to spend a large part of our time out of context. Now, I don't remember his context for making this statement and I don't remember any details, so I'm going to re-interpret what this might have meant.

I think he means that we need to think and experience outside of our norm, push ourselves to go outside of our box, whether this is driving a different way, walking a different route, reaching out and speaking to strangers, skydiving (I still haven't taken my birthday present), or maybe it's as simple as eating African food when we always eat American. I'm unsure, but from a man who wrote a timeless book, it's a thought to ponder.