Simplicity - The Gift of Simplifying

Winter is here, the holidays are over and a New Year has started. Cycles like these, makes me more reflective, and as I look back at my past, life was more complicated, busier, more stressful, and my focus for many years, was more on what was outside of me, what fashions I wore, what accumulations I could get, than what was going on within.

Nowadays, life is much simpler, reading a good book, doing something creative such as writing, working on my online business, or spending time with my significant other, fulfills me. I have learned that if we have a good relationship with ourselves, everything else follows and falls in place, and if something should go "amiss" there is a sense of equanimity; while the world is whirling around in a spinning wheel, the sense of calm remains.

I never planned for this simplification, it's as if a Higher Power or Consciousness, orchestrated certain events in my life, where instead of adding more objects, people and patterns into my life, I released what was no longer necessary, so that I could move on with my personal and spiritual growth. Ideas have been shed, some fears have been released, goals have changed, some friends have left my path, new ones have entered, and my concept of God has also changed. Instead of a deity sitting in the sky giving out favors and judgments, I see everyone as part of God, so there isn't the divisiveness of some paths and religions in my life experience, or that of expressing my spirituality only on Sundays at a church. Each day is spiritual, every experience is spiritual, being alive, working in a corporation is also spiritual, even the "argument" we may have, is spiritual. This I now can see: every thing is an opportunity for growth.

I have found getting rid of the mental and ego clutter, clears one's mind to be receptive to Truth. By ego, I mean the judgments, defensiveness, our human fears, the part of us that creates the illusion we are separate. As Jed Mckenna, a spiritual teacher who is rather blunt, has said regarding an author's insights (Morrimer J. Adler) he came across in his younger years "it taught me that there were two kinds of understanding; understanding for success and understanding for life. Understanding for success, meant following the herd. Understanding for life, meant following reason and facts, and your own head and heart, wherever they may lead. Understanding for life was an entirely different pursuit, and one I much preferred. It showed me that these two paths diverged and that, as Frost said, taking the road less traveled could make all the difference, and I say now that it did."

This does not mean, I don't have goals, or desire to accomplish business success or with my various creative pursuits, as I have a very active mind and good energy, but these goals are simply expressions of my living in this world, and while its joyful to do well, they are not ones that determine my identity or happiness, as things can be lost in the blink of an eye. The understanding for life is more fulfilling (for me) because out of this understanding, success gets redefined, the reason for being on this planet changes, and we move away from the craziness and drama of the world.