The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary
so that the necessary may speak.
– Hans Hofmann
Simplicity – it’s a word that has come into use a lot in the past years. As our lives have gotten busier and more full, a part of us yearns to return to a simpler, less cluttered way of being.
When I think about simplicity, one of the first things that comes to mind is when I would visit The Container Store. A giant store, filled from floor to ceiling, with things that we can buy to make our lives simpler. Which I love. Each time that I would check out, the clerk would try to get me to purchase their Real Simple magazine. ‘Real Simple’ – that sounds good. Then I would look at the magazine, and it is nearly a half an inch thick!
So then I began to wonder about what simplicity really is. Let’s call it ‘True Simplicity.’ I love the above quote – it is eliminating the unnecessary so that the necessary can speak.
What is necessary or unnecessary is individual and also can change from day to day. So there’s no formula or rules. (Having set of rules would be, well, not simple!) Perhaps simplicity is having a moment of space in your day. Of being able to take a breath and notice what you are feeling. In your feelings, you will discover what is necessary and what is unnecessary for you at that moment.
When attending to and honoring what my inner guidance tells me is necessary – or unnecessary – for me in the moment, I find that my life becomes simpler. I call someone whom I need to talk to at the right time, thus saving multiple calls to connect. I sit in a seat at the conference which is right next to the person whom I need to meet. I say ‘Yes’ to activities that are beneficial and ‘No’ to those that are not.
True simplicity – how can you find this in your life?
