Life is simple but we insist on making it complicated.
Is your life simple? Or is it complicated? Simple is often understood synonymous to boring, stagnant or nothing new. Whereas, simplicity can sometimes be beautiful too.
Life is simple but we insist on making it complicated- this quote by Confucius really got me thinking. If you would’ve asked meabout this before, my answer probably would’ve been that those who say it is simple are fools because how can life be anything but a mess, the source of anxiety and complications.
But now that I’ve thought about this long and hard, I would say- it is it is humans are complicated and not life. We are the ones who tend to overthink everything and make mountains out of a molehill. We are the ones expecting the people to understand our needs without voicing them, as if those people have been gifted with telepathy. We are the ones who while trying on a dress think of whether every person would approve of it before approving it ourselves. We are the ones who before eating any comfort food calculate all the calories and the exercises we’ll have to do the day after. We are the ones who always try to read between the lines. And then we are the ones who say life is hard.
And sometimes all this pretence and fakeness makes us yearn for that illusory and elusive simplicity.
Is a simple life an illusion?
I remember when I visited my hometown in Uttrakhand. It was a week after my board results and I had come to the realisation that I was never going to be able to get the subject I really wanted because of my not so good marks. It was the feeling of broken dreams, a crash landing in reality, anxiety and the uncertainty of future that drove me to visit my village.
In just a week I experienced the simplicity that people say is illusion. It was like all my problems just disappeared. Poof! just like that. And I got to experience what life is like without all these extra messes and extra complications. Life in mountains is so simple and by simple I do not in any sense mean easy or boring. It is a life of hardwork and simple rewards and to the people living there that is more than enough. They do not need other’s approval in what they eat or how they talk and dress, they are content in doing their share of the fieldwork, filling their bellies and having a good night’s sleep.
That one week in my life was all about waking up early morning, playing in pond, trying to catch fishes, dancing in rain, simple food, and falling asleep gazing at the stars. The same routine every day for a week yet every day was different. Life was beautiful.
How can you cut the complications out of your life?
Let’s be honest, no one wants their life to be complex and if given a chance at a simple life, you’d grab it in a heartbeat. So, how can you make your life simple rather than yearning for someone else’s simple life?
It’s not that hard, cutting simple things out of your life can make a big difference. Little habits that you may not even notice may affect your life intensely. Take a moment to notice those habits and start with them.
If you want to eat that yummy burger then go and eat it! Worry about the exercises and calories later! If you like that dress in the shop across the street, then buy it! Who cares whether the world likes it or not! You do and that’s all that matters.
Dance in the rain if you want to and stop wondering what all others on the street are going to think, it’s not like you’ll ever see them again.
Do you know half the problems in life are just due to overthinking? Overthinking is one cause of mental illnesses and disorders. Delete these few things out of life and you will notice difference in both your mental health and in turn your life.
When I get emotionally tired, I just sit at my terrace and gaze at the stars. Looking at that endless sky with so many stars makes your problems suddenly look so small and insignificant. It makes you realise that that simple life has always been in front of you, but you were just too blinded by those small issues to see how truly beautiful life is.
No one’s life is perfect or ideal for you. Everyone out there in the world have their own problems to deal with. So instead of lamenting over the things you cannot do, the qualities you do not have, start being thankful for the things you do have. Our mind is very powerful, and it wholly depends on you, whether you want it to be a curse or a blessing. If you feel the beauty then life becomes beautiful but when you see only the issues then life is complicated.
Remember, life is just like a mirror, what you see is a reflection of who you are.
So just stop worrying, laugh loudly, live deeply and love intensely.
Find a BUDDY to share all your problems with (even anonymously, if you want) on the FeelJoy Mobile App available for all Android users.
