In Praise of the Simple
We live deeply complex lives. Even those of us who no longer engage in paid work find ourselves deeply mired in emails, newsletters and announcements , social media, newsfeeds, online scams and warnings about them, onslaughts of information or opinion or conspiracy theories. It is hard to find a route to the simple. That is unless yourfind an article about how to de-clutter you cupboards, or your mind, written by an expert, usually smiling into your space with seeming sincerity.
Even without meetings and memos for work, we are inundated with data, appointments, time zone shifts, and conversations in little rectangles.
The blessings of Zoom are without bounds. We can reach around the world, study with great masters of any subject at the click of a few buttons (paying for the privilege without writing a cheque). We can connect with those we love and take part in innumerable conversations.
All the while, many of us long for a simpler way of being. Not ungrateful, we long for a time we might remember when a diary was a little book with notations in pencil. The spaces in that tattered leather binder didn’t fill up quite so rapidly as they do now. Somehow we are busier than we were, in spite of the promise of greater ease as we grow older.
We might ask ourselves how we can simplify. In today’s parlance that translates into “how do we achieve a work/life balance?”, even if we are not working. It seems as if we are, even after that sometimes dreaded, and much desired, transition into retirement.
Brew a cup of tea.
Breathe in front of an open window, or out of doors.
Open arms out wide.
Shout with joy.
Eat without speaking.
Sit with someone you love, holding hands.
Wash dishes without rubber gloves.
Close eyes to see inside.
These are the unadorned, the guileless, the genuine acts of life, no appointment needed. No notation in the diary to be met at a specific time and place. These are the direct experience of life, alone and/or together. These simple acts bring us back to the simple fact of our existence.
Uncomplicated breathing.
Basic standing or sitting
Ordinary enjoyment of a plain meal
Unambiguous conversation
Open-hearted reading of a printed book
Responsive listening to music as if at a concert
Writing with a pen on paper
Singing or humming
Laughing
These simple acts bring us back to the pace at which humans were meant to be, except when we are being chased by the proverbial sabre tooth tiger. That which is simple allows us to respond from the ‘rest and digest’ aspect of our complex , hardly simple, nervous system. This automatic response tells the body it is safe, and we can focus on recovery from that flight or fight. There is a chain of gratefully unconscious events that allows blood pressure to drop, breath and heart rates to slow. In short, we flip on the switch that brings the body to relaxation. It brings us back to the simple act of being.
Some might find the simple a bit slow, a bit unspectacular. Compared to our rapid pace of life, it is. The simple, while not complex, is hardly plebeian or dreary. In fact, it is vibrant with attention and focus.
We, even in our older years, are encouraged to multi-task and learn new skills. Nothing wrong with that! Living well on all levels takes a both/and approach…simple and active, passionate and mindful. We can pay attention differently, unhurried and free of pressure. We can respond from being.
An additional benefit of living the simple is, oddly, the ability to say “no”. Our lives can become overburdened with commitments, each one valuable and beneficial, many of them simply too many. Saying “no” allows more space for the “yes” that matters, the “yes” that nourishes the other as well as ourselves. It is a gift that allows a sincere and trustworthy relationship to flourish.
The simple makes space for ease and curiosity, observation and engagement. While absorbed in a simple mindstate we allow a flow of uncluttered consideration and reflection as well as feeling to come to consciousness. We become more deeply aware of our external surroundings and our internal landscape. One-pointed focus allows us to be fully present.
While drinking tea, we are drinking tea. Simple. While breathing, we inhale and exhale. Simple. We have created time and space to be with what is. Simple.
Nature doesn’t hurry yet everything is accomplished.
~~Lao Tzu