Sometimes my life can get too complex. It may be because too much is going on. Perhaps it is something like the beginning of
a new school year or a holiday season.
Sometimes it is self-inflicted.
For those of us who have a hard time saying, “no,” life can become too
demanding. Busyness is always a sign
that life is bordering on being too complex.
But I am aware that complex lives cannot simply be equated
with busy lives. For some people, it is
the opposite extreme, namely, boredom. I
know some people who, in their own words, “are bored to death.” Obviously they are not literally dead. But their boredom is a form of being dead---a
kind of pre-mortem deadness. They are as
good as dead.
When I sense complexity is becoming a pressing life issue
for me, I know it is time to entertain its opposite: simplicity. Simplicity has a hallowed history in my own
Quaker tradition. I know I have been
“for it” all my life. When you are
younger, simplicity is easier to manage.
But as you age, typically life becomes more complex. Usually there is some form of busyness. It is typical that we begin to try to balance
school, work, families, kids, parents and the list goes on. It is much easier to add to the list than to
subtract.
When I discover (or should I say, re-discover) that it is
time to think about simplifying my life again, I know the route for
myself. I have traveled this path many
times. It is not magical, but with some
attention, it can work. I’ll share it with
you.
The key to simplifying my life is to return to the
foundationals. I know what some of these
foundationals are for myself. They may
be different for you or for other folks.
Whatever they are, foundationals should be the keystones to a more simple
life and, therefore, a more centered life.
I use the plural, foundationals, because although we may
talk about “the foundation” of our life, I suspect in most cases there actually
are a few foundational things that make life what we really want it to be. They are not necessarily universal. What is foundational for me may not work for
you. But I suspect there are a few
foundationals that do work for most of the people most of the time. Let’s look at just one of these foundationals.
The most important foundational for me has to do with
time. When my life is getting too
complex, more than likely it has to do with my becoming too busy. We could define and describe busyness in
multiple ways, but I wonder if busyness is not at its core an issue of time? Busyness means I have too much to do in too
little time. It typically means I am
pressed for time. I don’t have time to
breathe. There probably are other,
well-known ways of describing this.
That is why time is the initial foundational. I know that I need to take a little time for
myself---a kind of adult time out! My
busyness needs to be interrupted. I need
a little self-intervention. I know that
if I don’t make a few changes in the way I do time, then nothing changes. Or even worse, I know that if I do not do
anything different with my time, then my body or my soul will take over. I will get sick. My body or my soul will find a way to shut me
down for a while.
So my real choice is whether I will intentionally find some
time to be different…or will I be unintentionally put down for a time. You would think I am smart enough to know
this, but too often I am really a slow learner!
One way intentionally to take some time is to build in some
devotional time. It can be some time in
prayer or meditation. It could be some
time of study. I might do yoga or
something more active. It can be as
simple as a thirty-minute walk. The
Buddhists talk about the wisdom of walking meditation. The key is to do it.
Thinking about doing it, planning to do it, hoping to do
it---all these are inadequate because none of them is an action. Anything less than a foundational that is
action is inadequate. But I also know
the action has to be “doable” and that means reasonable. If I am out of shape, I cannot climb
spiritual mountains!
There is some time-honored wisdom for implementing an
intervention in the busyness of my time.
I know I need to start slowly.
Five minutes is better than nothing.
Five minutes for a week is better than a half hour one day and then
quit. Use small steps and build on
this. Foundationals help us to become
spiritual- slowly and surely.
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