Complex Simplicity

Did you notice how every new invention or innovation lauds it's own ability to bring profound simplicity into your life? Apparently, many of us are longing for that 'cuz we jump rather quickly onto that bus, only to find that this new-found "simplicity" will require X amount of hours to overcome the learning curve. By the time you feel you've garnered some elementary sense of mastery on the subject, the novelty has run it's course and been trumped by the next marketplace marvel promised to simplify your existence.

Why is simplicity so complex?

Somewhere along this endless road we wake up and realize we've lost any sense of life whatsoever. Adventure, awe, marvel, and delight are things we read to our children but rarely encounter ourselves anymore. There's just no time; I'm busy trying to simplify.

I'm sure we're not the first generation of people to fall prey to this distraction. In fact, I wonder if that's not why Jesus had to teach the way He did, "Consider the lilies..." "Consider the birds..." - I mean, did He really have to tell people to look at something they saw every single day as they bustled thru life?

Yep.

We just don't see it. We're too busy trying to simplify. I woke up the other day after a long day's work and an afternoon of family tasks, summer preparations and mutual nesting rituals in preparation for a new arrival. Exhausted, everyone else was in bed, I sat on the deck under a clear sky, beaming moon and twinkling stars, I woke up.

I realized I didn't have any reason why I shouldn't be completely content with my life. Not because I had mastered the latest widget, but because I find myself, despite my shortcomings and character flaws, in love with a God who loved me first and thought of me long before I ever thought of Him. One who blessed me with a loving family, quirks and all, and "gives us richly all things to enjoy" (I Tim 6:17).

I unearthed a paradox in my own heart and mind: the more I seek adventure and novelty, the less satisfied I am in my pursuit; but as I sow the seed of true simplicity, the adventure of it all overtakes me.