The “New Simplicity” or Sanity in a Post-Post World

Part 1: Finding out who we are, not who we are told we are, by Rob Krabbe  © 2012

Simplicity is Very Complicated.

Writing a post about living a life of “New Simplicity” is ironic. Plus, what’s with the word “new” for, anyway? Admittedly, taking the big “chill-out” plunge is a process in de-processing. In this modern digital world, how do we keep our pudding in the pate? Simplicity can be complex, indeed much more than just placing a trash can by the mail box. This is one of those changes to one’s life that fully requires a deeper desire, and a lot of fire. An ice-burg with much more under the surface. So let’s let that percolate for a bit, to be sure the graft will take, while we consider where we have come, and how we got here.

Simplicity starts with our own perception of us, and the difference between joy and happiness.

In today’s culture, we belong to the philosophy of the month club.  We fad diet, microwave our laundry and covet every new gadget, before the old one is unwrapped.  Each new version of each innovation has the potential to save the world all over again, and make us feel much better about ourselves that we own it.  So, as they say about slow weight loss, being not only healthier but it having a greater chance of “keeping it off,” so let’s consider carefully this idea of simplicity and peace of mind.  Here’s the “rub,” I came to a place today, where I realized, at some point, I had, sadly and surprisingly, become a . . . Consumer.

Human-being definition: an end user. A target market. A bell curve. A statistic. One piece of the world’s market-share graph.

It seems, I surrendered over time.  The man behind the curtain told me how to dress, what to own, what to drive, where to live, how much to make, how much to collect, how many storage units to fill, how fat is fat, and what is healthy, my body type, what is success, what is family, what to believe, what to fight for, who to elect, what church is right, what faith is true, a lot of what I perceived about myself was now being told to me by the media. The sad part is, the media, like it or not, is us. We are the media, by our voting with dollars and attention.  Radio, internet, television, even when I don’t think I’m paying attention, wails away at us with the programming.

Part one of living a more sane and simple life is noticing, listening, and paying attention. Assessing or reassessing one’s reality is always a good thing.  So let’s look at the things that we take for granted as fact, myth, philosophy and belief.

I sipped my coffee unaware of the epiphany looming. The network neo-news anchor was building to a teaser that would, I’m sure, excite me enough to stay focused through the commercials to the next segment of programming.  The news anchor, a delightfully coiffed man, who had no specific hair style, no accent, and no features except a wonderful savory manliness and trustworthy mature sounding voice, chuckled and pluffed with his Barbie partner, about the previous story’s cuteness, and how we would all have a better life if we just sat back and enjoyed his perfect teeth for a while.  That’s when it struck me, I accepted a long time ago, that I don’t really believe much that comes out of the television anymore, just like the feeling I have about Washington politicians but I sit glued to the screen, subconsciously, to this Pavlovian Oracle telling me what to think and feel, and redefining, “newthinking” the English language and what I believe about happiness, and I still show up to vote for the lessor of many evils so I have the right to complain.

So this week I am going to make a list.  I’m going to listen, and notice.  I will make a list of the things that I believe matter to me today.  Then when I have exhausted the making of that list I will meditate on it, and consider what I really think, myself, of each item, and cross off the things that really, in the end, don’t matter so much.  I wonder if I will have a list at all when it is over.  I know family will be there, God, and the wonderful natural world around us, but what else will survive?

I don’t want to be a “made-man,” anymore (not in the gangster-sense, although I will avoid that as well), I simply no longer want to be told who to be, and what reality is.

So let’s make our lists, whittle them down, and our simple lives will slowly and peacefully begin to emerge, led by what we really believe and hold precious like a pied piper, and then with the room on our lists, we can begin to appreciate the many blessings we have, and a deeper joy will replace fragile happiness.