Being okay with being bored is rare now. The people who can do it notice things everyone else scrolls past.

Boredom used to be unavoidable and is now optional, which means most people never sit in it long enough to find out what is on the other side. What is on the other side is noticing: small details, half formed ideas, the thought you were too occupied to finish. Tolerance for empty time is less a virtue than an ability that has become uncommon.

Try ten minutes with nothing to look at. In a queue, on a walk, waiting for someone. The discomfort passes faster than you expect, and what comes after it is your own thinking.