Simple-minded

"Only simple minds can understand this complex problem called life."

-- A. Sujata

Simplicity unties, and transcends, complexity. A simple mind sees only what is. A complex mind sees the world through theories and fears, through strategies and desires, and always compares what is to what ought to be. When a complex mind meets a complex world, complexity is compounded exponentially.

At its core life is simple. On the surface, life appears complex. A complex mind becomes enmeshed in, and enamored by, surface details. A simple mind dives deep to the core, to the ocean floor, of life. From the depth of simplicity, understanding emerges.

To truly understand life you don't need to read more books, listen to more pundits, participate in religious ritual, or get another degree. All you need to do is sit quietly and allow your mind to become quiet, too. Hint: It may take awhile. But even as you wait for your mind-waves to subside, you will have moments of peace, flashes of clarity, times of understanding. The seas will shine like glass, and they will momentarily reflect the simplicity of reality.

I know, you're way too busy to sit quietly and do nothing. So, start with five minutes, stolen away, somewhere in the midst of your day. Breathe in, breathe out. Watch the loud, crashing waves of thought break on the shores of your mind. There's nothing to figure out, nothing to solve, nothing to put right -- at least for five minutes a day. And next week, maybe for ten.

Complex life, simple mind. Counterintuitive. You say, "It will never work." I say, "You never know until you try."

No Answer

"There ain't no answer.
There ain't going to be any answer.
There never has been an answer.
That's the answer."

-- Gertrude Stein

Whether we're consciously aware of it or not, we're all looking for the answer. The answer to "What's it all about, Alfie?" The answer to the meaning and purpose of, the reason for, life.

But entertain in your mind for a moment the possibility that perhaps there isn't one. No answer. No reason, no purpose, no meaning. What if life just is? What if you just are? No cognitive, theological or theoretical underpinnings, just mere naked existence.

Scary or freeing? Or both?

In the Land of No Answer, the search is over. Self-improvement dead in the water. Enlightenment a quaint concept. Isness rules! This is it. The past is meaningless. The future, a mere figment of your imagination.

How do you "properly" live if there is no answer, if even the search for the answer is absurd? You breathe in, and then breathe out. You take each moment as it comes. You let life unfold. You're not dumb as a stump. In fact, you're more awake, more alive, more aware -- you're just no longer a seeker. The questioning look in your eyes vanishes. You're not looking for a guru, an expert, the next self help tome. You're just alive, just you.

Today's a great day to get comfortable in your own skin, in your own mind, in your own Spirit. It begins with relaxing and letting go. Letting go of your need for an answer. Letting go of the search for an answer and being, just being, right here, right now.