People can have opposing opinions about a great number of things.
Summer is here and you find people arguing over which season is best, which fruit reigns supreme, and if we should “stan” pineapple pizza.
It’s also evident that there are some things most people agree with.
For example, even though we have variant cinematic tastes, most of us love movies.
One thing however that is quite indisputable is this; nobody wants complications.
People have no confusion answering this question: simple or not?
No one wants a complicated relationship, a difficult application process, or long hours of clerical work.
It’s normal to want simplicity. It might be the biggest pursuit in our technological advances. Apple’s success is often credited to their ability to facilitate their technology and render it sleek and elegantly simple.
Everything we advance in, usually points to convenience and simplicity.
Our smartphones are more than enough proof of this statement. Trying to have everything within reach in our pockets, things that once occupied entire rooms and desks.
Is it that simple though? Does striving for simplicity, make things simpler?
The iPhone, is it really a testament to simplicity?
Underneath the easy interface, there is highly developed complex technology.
The same applies for our everyday bodily activities. The complexities in how our bodies work still boggles the mind and yet and we often don’t give it a second thought when we’re breathing, eating and running.
So why is it that we’re always searching for a simpler way, an easier path?
I believe it’s because we know, how unforgiving and ruthless the world really is.
It is far from simple and we’re constantly trying to find ways to make it easier for us to deal with.
Yet no matter how much we’ve accomplished in simplifying life, it doesn’t get easier. It doesn’t get shorter or smoother.
The truth is, we’ve been going about this the wrong way.
It’s not about making our lives simpler.
It’s about becoming adept to deal with complexity.
We don’t choose this option. Why? Because it needs courage. We don’t want to deal with complicated questions, nor do we want vague dilemmas.
We want buttons, with instructions and manuals and others telling us what to do to survive.
Instead of becoming more evolved and mature, our aim is always the shortcut.
And we will always end up with the same conclusion in that dark corner of our mind; Why is it so tough?
The answer itself is complicated, and everyone can have an entirely different explanation. The problem is that rather than dealing with this question head on, we go around and try to nullify it by making life easy. So, when we eventually do end up falling on our faces, we’re left with the same burgeoning question knowing fully that there’s no escape.
That doesn’t mean we don’t try to wiggle out and distract ourselves, but it’s only a testament to just how far we’ll go to avoid that confrontation with the convoluted and mysterious.
The world is not simple. Your life isn’t simple. Your job, car, and family aren’t simple.
It’s up to you to learn how to deal with it. Not by escaping it, nor by making it easier, but by becoming battle-hardened soldiers who go through life with cuts and bruises and even more, but becoming bolder and stronger at every turn.
Does it sound so simplistic? Or inconsiderate? Maybe. But it’s only because it’s the surgical approach. Nothing is accomplished by hoping for the best.
It’s not just about hard work, it’s about learning to face your hardest, scariest obstacles and most terrifying questions head on.
Because if you don’t overcome them now, they will catch up with you, sooner or later.
