I read of a widow or older person who said they were bored, and someone in exasperation finally said...

• ...said "what is under your feet now?" "Ants", she replied. And they said "Go study ants enough to write a book about it."
• She did, and it became a well-regarded book. She had no idea there was so much to know, about ants.
• (This might have been in Reader's Digest many years ago.)