La Dolce Vita

I started this simplicity web magazine several months ago, and haven't done very much with it. I have invited some people to contribute, and I hope that we will all do so soon, and on a somewhat regular basis. When I began toying with the idea of "Simple Pleasures", I kind of thought that I could learn about simplicity, and use this as a forum to encourage others to find simplicity and make it a goal in their own lives.

That was a fail.

I realized that I still struggle with getting anything about my life to be simple, and I haven't been able to just learn it, as though I could achieve it by memorizing a list of facts or principles. Instead, I'm going to have to begin by trying to figure out how to even "do" anything that could be termed "simple", and I can document my own struggles here.

There is joy in the journey, after all.

Upcoming

I hope to soon provide you with thoughts from Mama Mia, who has thoughts on living deliberately, loving beauty, giving grace, and working in the garden.

The Doom of Busy

A busy life begs for more, not less, attention to simplicity. I had a busy day; I completed so many items on my to-do list, and relished the rush that came with crossing off each item. I washed and dried and folded laundry; I chased a baby and two cats around the house; I ran errands, feeling the crunch of the looming 5:00 pm deadline (End of business day! The world stops!). Believe me when I say it was crazy: I had to put my baby son in a videoconference call just so he could see his father for a few minutes. While driving (in my car that is disintegrating, slowly but surely), the thoughts crowded into my head, reminding me of all the blogging that I haven't been doing for months. "I'm so busy," I thought. "I don't have time to write about simplicity and the simple pleasures of life." And yet, what better time to write? What better person to represent the struggle to simplify, to live meaningfully, than one whose life naturally tends toward the opposite extreme of chaos? Simplicity very well may come easily to some. In my life, it is something for which I must consciously strive, every day.

Don't let the doom of being busy drive you away from your goal of simplicity and a calm life under control. It is a downward spiral, to be sure, and the busier you are, the busier still you will become. Instead, just breathe. Rest. Be mindful of what is important. Take time to sharpen the saw, as Mr. Covey would say, and you'll be happier and more productive as a result.

Sleep, Baby, Sleep

I spent far too long tonight attempting to get my little one to go to sleep and stay asleep. Fortunately, his grandpa was there to work his magic and get him to dreamland, so it all ended well. But while I was carrying the boy, swaying back and forth while holding him so that he could stare at the mesmerizing ceiling fan, I thought about how precious these moments really are. Most of the time, I'm so tired that I am impatient, in a hurry to get them over with, and I fail to appreciate what it really means to hold a precious life in my arms. I might as well cherish these times, since I am apparently destined to never forget them: Thirty-one years after the fact, my mother still makes a point of reminiscing about my own refusal to sleep as a baby.

Holding a baby, nuzzling the oh-so-soft neck, hearing the laughs that are like enchanted fairy bugles... these are the sweetest of life's simple pleasures.

The Simple Life

It is a challenge to aspire to simplicity when living in one of the least simple places in the world: Southern California. [Need I convince you? One word: freeways.] I think it is worth the effort to take on that challenge, however. My parents are rather good at modeling simplicity. I'd like to learn. I am attempting to be a real person, a person who embraces simplicity not as a fad or tool for self-improvement, but rather as a foundational principle of that most elusive of thing, the good life.

Socrates would assert, no doubt, that the good life is one of earnest contemplation and self-examination. Aristotle would advocate order, moderation, and a sort of benificent pragmatism. For Confucius, it might be the pursuit of perfection of virtue. Me? I'm lucky to make it through a day without any major screw-ups. I haven't realized the good life yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I get there.