"Simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world."
— Laozi (Tao Te Ching)
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world."
— Laozi (Tao Te Ching)
Why do we make things so complex in our lives today? It seems to me that along with trying to do everything faster & better, we tend to make everything more & more complex. Often in life it's the simplest answer that is the correct answer. When we have major decisions in our life we tend to vacillate between all the options we have available to us. Some people tend to make lists of all the possibilities & work through the decision as analytically as they possibly can. I use to do this all the time. I would beat myself up to make sure that I've covered all the possibilities, to make sure that I defined everything that could happen in a situation & then prepare myself for the various scenarios that I've envisioned.
This does work on very logical level but by making decision so complex we remove ourselves from the true flow of the universe. We are all connected on so many levels in the universe & the more we try to define what is correct in our life, the further we move away from this connection. Occam's razor says that when all else is equal the simplest solution is the answer. So why do we try to make things so complex?
I think as the cumulative intelligence of the world has risen over the past 100 years we've lost what's important to us. We try to explain everything & we discount anything that can't be explained. I spoke yesterday about patience & I believe making things simple is the next step to finding true joy in your life. Let go of all the gyrations of thought, take time to feel & listen to your soul. That quiet voice deep inside, the voice of God/universe it has all the answers you need & when you begin to simplify your life you will discover the true flow of the universe. Once you realize how easy things can be when you're within the flow of the universe you will work to stay in this true flow all the time.
It is our disconnection from our source (God/universe) that causes us all the troubles we have in our lives. If we can rediscover our connection & stay within it's nature flow, we will know more joy then we can even imagine.
Till tomorrow,
Bill
Quote of the day: "Simplify your life, let go of all the complexity of the worl around us & you will find true joy!"
By TwitterButtons.com
This does work on very logical level but by making decision so complex we remove ourselves from the true flow of the universe. We are all connected on so many levels in the universe & the more we try to define what is correct in our life, the further we move away from this connection. Occam's razor says that when all else is equal the simplest solution is the answer. So why do we try to make things so complex?
I think as the cumulative intelligence of the world has risen over the past 100 years we've lost what's important to us. We try to explain everything & we discount anything that can't be explained. I spoke yesterday about patience & I believe making things simple is the next step to finding true joy in your life. Let go of all the gyrations of thought, take time to feel & listen to your soul. That quiet voice deep inside, the voice of God/universe it has all the answers you need & when you begin to simplify your life you will discover the true flow of the universe. Once you realize how easy things can be when you're within the flow of the universe you will work to stay in this true flow all the time.
It is our disconnection from our source (God/universe) that causes us all the troubles we have in our lives. If we can rediscover our connection & stay within it's nature flow, we will know more joy then we can even imagine.
Till tomorrow,
Bill
Quote of the day: "Simplify your life, let go of all the complexity of the worl around us & you will find true joy!"
By TwitterButtons.com
8 comments:
Very nice, Bill! Wise words from a wise man. (=
I'm all about simplicity. Through out the day, I simply find time to enjoy the small things in life, like the snow falling outside right now.
Thanks for the reminder, to make our lives less complex! Great topic, great post.
I going to disagree with you a little, Bill. My overall impression is that sometimes complexity is just the way things are - some ethical issues are very complex, for instance, and sometimes it's necessary to add complexity to our lives due to the kind of work we do or our relationships with others. Complexity itself isn't always the problem.
While it is always good to try and simplify the unnecessary complexities of or lives, I think a better approach is to think of it in terms of balance. Not too complex... not too simple... our lives should, ideally, represent a good balance between extremes.
That's just my take on it. I really enjoyed this post, and it sparked up lots of thoughts about living well that hadn't crossed my mind in a while.
That's ok Jenn, I love debates! =D I think you're missing the point, of course there can be complex issues that we have to deal with or issues we need to be educated on to master but an issue (like a complex math equation) doesn't rule the way we live our life. We tend to "over think" things way to much today & we can learn the answer or how to get the answer & still have our life be simple.
I do appreciate your comments & I always welcome any thoughts or opinion because I grow as a person through discussion.
Hugs,
Bill
There's also the fact that we're all different in the way we process life, or approach life. I happen to be one of those people who has a tendency to do things in a way that might, to others, look like "the hard way". In reality, this is the way that works best for me. It may appear to others that I'm adding needless extra steps, or complicating the process, but I'm doing it in the way that works best for me. Does that mean I view my methods as being needlessly complex? No, of course not, but others may feel that to be true.
If I feel that I'm beginning to "extra step" myself into a point of exhaustion, then I step back, review and pare down a wee bit, and this applies to habits with daily chores as well as relationships. I even wrote a blog about Fall Pruning last year with that concept in mind. Cleaning house never hurts, metaphorically and literally.
I'm straying a bit from your core concept here, but it was just a thought that occurred as I was reading your post. As contradictory as it sounds, if adding more steps to something makes it feel "right" to you, then embrace those extra steps! I feel that this applies to anything in life.
All of that aside, we live in a world of technology that definitely junks up the horizon in myriad ways. I grew up in a very spartan manner, and know from experience that all the stuff we think we need to survive really isn't necessary. In fact, all that "stuff" can wind up impeding communication and relationships with the ones who matter most. In that sense, paring down the "noise" that surrounds us all is definitely a worthwhile endeavor.
Thanks for another interesting post, Bill.
~ Dawn
Wow, in reviewing that comment, I see that I yammered on way too long. My apologies and note to self...get to the point in brief format for all future comments!
~ Dawn
No problem on the length I appreciate the comment. I think the idea is that things should work simply if for you that means to do xyz to get there...as long as it flows & you don't feel impeded by it then it's probably ok. But the truth is I've spent a lot of my life figuring out ways to streamline things & often even things that people are comfortable with & work aren't the best way...I wrote a blog on "comfort" & the trap that it is a while back.
Thanks Dawn,
Hugs,
Bill
From a former over-thinker about every...single...little...thing...
I agree with you 100%, Bill.
Marie
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