Written for GBE2 Week #41 "Simplicity"
Many times I've found that trying to "keep it simple" has made things more complex. Sure everything starts out simply enough, say for instance playing the piano. You start with the basic C scale, no flats, no sharps, no chords, just one note at a time. However, if the point is to play the piano decently you need to learn all the scales with sharps, flats etc. and chords and different timing and many other things that then make it a complex pursuit.
When simplifying one's life, does it not really lead to more complexity? How many politicians have left office saying that they want to get back to the basics; time with their families. Now, when has time with anyone's family, particularly your own relatives, been particularly simple. Family relationships are beyond complex and spending more time in them may enrich them, but will never make it simple.
There are those people who want to simplify their lives by getting rid of the "clutter". In many cases, such as my husband's, this means to literally get rid of junk accumulating around the homestead. Usually, in his case, this means getting rid of MY "junk" from around the homestead. Nonetheless, does removing clutter simplify things? Certainly you may have to hold an annoying and amazingly complex yard sale to rid yourself of these items, also you may find you actually did need one of the items and end up buying it again.
Is my whole thesis in this post that we can never simplify our lives? No, but it may not be as simple as it first appears.
