Simple

For all the accumulation of time, education and experience in the 16,014 days I have lived, I find that I myself can create and destroy the simple things that keep me in balance.  The natural equilibrium that begins at the very level of our cells can keep us even kilter, but alas we casually tip the tides toward lack or drowning in so many ways.  It is in the seat of simple living that I find my best life.

Dictionary.com offers five entries for the adjective simple.
1.  easy to understand, deal with, use, etc.
2.  not elaborate or artificial; plain
3.  not ornate or luxurious; unadorned
4.  unaffected; unassuming; modest
5.  not complicated

So often I feel simple is difficult.  And perhaps thinking so is my first mistake.  Maybe it IS easy and I am complicating it all up (such is my habit)!  Simple sometimes seems for me in our modern society a behemoth task to accomplish as if we must scrape away the piles of complexity heaped upon everyday living to get to the layers of what we actually need.  What do I actually need?  We consider much, both physical and energetic, that we may keep or discard with the myriad of options for work, food, relationships and recreation mixed with financial options and pressures, societal expectations, and individual philosophies.  Cultural constraints, family patterns, personal preferences and modern technology accrue alongside all our physical belongings and the storage space our stuff requires.  Abundance appears as a gift and a responsibility.

Simple days for me mean slowing down and becoming more methodical in my steps without succumbing to lack of movement altogether.  Controlling our pace challenges because it suggests we acknowledge where uncontrolled inertia and/or lethargy are affecting us.  Simple ideas like “rest when you are tired, eat whole foods, do what you love, take time for yourself” seem like huge tasks when we have multiple places to be, appointments, deadlines, financial obligations.

Yet, in all of today’s muddle minded musing, I see how cool and simple it is that I can sit in my home with my computer all jamming with 1’s and 0’s, look up quotes and definitions, search for and find a site that will calculate the number of days I have lived, and share my thoughts with the world.  Amazing.  I’m certainly not suggesting we scrap modern offerings.  I’m searching for ways not to let them create havoc in my internal milieu where simple contentment is rooted, balanced and always available.

I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is
best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.
                                                                -Albert Einstein

Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff.  Most fails.  Some
works.  You do more of what works.  If it works big, others
quickly copy it.  Then you do something else.  The trick is
the doing something else. 
                                                                -Leonardo da Vinci