I was on Twitter chatting with @dr2b_robin when she said “I’m the queen of simplicity!”
She said it with such utter conviction (at least I thought it was conviction…maybe I was reading too much into 140 characters) that I started thinking. Am I a Queen of Simplicity?
I want to be a Queen of Simplicity.
I love simplicity.
Take me anywhere, and I’m watching everything going on around me and offering a running commentary to my long-suffering husband on how the process could be more efficient or more simple. I try to organize our home and our lives to make things more simple. I read Real Simple and clip articles such as How to Fake a Clean House. Do you know what I’ve found?
Simplicity ain’t simple!
My mom is a Queen of Simplicity too…and she makes it look so easy. You know, like watching Michael Jordan, the Rockettes, or Payton Manning. Apple products are simple…my parents were able to pick up an iPod and figure out how to use it without any instructions.
Simplicity, to me, implies an ease of movement. A fluidity to every action, placement, thought. By definition, all extraneous stuff is gone.
So why am I talking about this in a posting about being In Transition? Like I said, Simplicity ain’t simple…and it takes time and effort to achieve it. Michael Jordan spent hours every single day practicing. My mom has spent years culling down to the bare essentials and putting in organizational structures to support her concept of simplicity. There is work involved – a lot of work. Dolly Parton said “you’d be surprised how much money it costs to look this cheap!” I say “you’d be surprised how much work it takes to be this simple”.
Being In Transition has given me the time to actually step back and look at my life and to see where I can simplify it. Physically I’ve been able to empty out some closets. Mentally I’ve had time to begin work on some areas of my personality that can be a bit intense. Monetarily…well being out of a job takes care of that!
I’m not a Queen of Simplicity. I’m not a princess, nor even a lady-in-waiting. I guess I’m a debutante of simplicity. I’m just beginning my journey to define what simple means to me, and how I can achieve it. I haven’t even touched the fluidity aspect.
But to complicate my simple revelations about simplicity is the fact that I’m married. I cannot take my journey alone – I have a traveling partner. So that means my journey is also his journey, and he is going to have to be involved in my re-defining and efforts.
So let me tie all this back to learning…because to me life is all about learning. I’ve learned simplicity ain’t simple. I’ve learned that I need time to find where I can simplify. I’ve learned that I’m just beginning this path. I’m constantly re-learning that I’m not on this path alone, and that I have to be flexible enough to include my husband on my journey – if he wants to go. What if he doesn’t want to explore simplicity with me? Then I’ll learn how to compromise and listen to what he is truly saying.
And I may find that my life is simple after all.
Tree of Learning 