Why is Simple so Complex?

Simply put, we don’t do simple well. You know a society has trouble with the concept of “simple” when it takes a magazine (aptly named Real Simple) to instruct us on how to get rid of clutter, organize stuff and re-arrange our lives. Part of the reason we reisist simplicity is that we’ve been taught to believe that complex equals progress. Look at any recent technology you’ve acquired and you’ll see what I mean. Our phones now come with 100-page manuals. But does that make them truly complex or merely complicated?

Simplicity is complex when it demands creative subtraction. For everything added, something must be removed. Less is more is not an easy rule by which to live.

Another way to look at it comes from the architect Glenn Murcutt who writes, “I see simplicity not so much as a disregard for complexity but as a clarification of the significant.”

But how does one know what is and isn’t significant? Especially when faced with a blank slate or canvas. It’s easier to look at something that already exists and pull from it what appears important. It’s much harder to see something that isn’t there and decide what to create and make important. Anyone in the creative fields can attest to this.

Silence helps clear a mental path through our clutter and give us clarity. But even that is complicated. All the while we are trying to achieve silence, our ego mind starts in on a long list of questions and doubts. Are we doing it right? Did we leave the coffee maker on? Do we have time for this? Is this working And the chatter in our minds goes on and on.

Silence is simple. To quiet the mind, concentrate only on your breath. The mind goes in many directions, the breath only moves in two. Simplicity — achieved instantly by just focusing on your breath. Another way to give clarity to the significant.

We all give so much of ourselves during the day to work, to others, to our passions. Take a small amount of time to give back to yourself at the beginning and end of the day. At night, it’s hard not to leaf through a laundry list of what happened that day and and that’s OK. Use it as time to review the day — what went right, where you can improve — then let it go and let your mind be still. For me, this mental closet cleaning allows me to clear away any triumphs or ravages of the day and make room for sweet dreams.

Because at the end of the day all that is required of us is to just be. To simply exist, one must exist simply. Sounds complex, but in reality, it’s simple.