Simple Things

I took both of these photos a year or so ago at the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park. To be honest, I debated for a while on whether or not to include them here because the perfectionist in me had issues with their framing. But life, including its most beautiful aspects, oftentimes arrives to us imperfect. The delicate, small, purplish-blue, daisy-looking flowers above, I am almost completely certain, are asters, while the little white flowers below remind me of baby's breath, a flower that is sometimes used to add fringe ornamentation to flower bouquets. What I like about wildflowers is their simplicity, their unpretentiousness. They simply are what they are. And while from afar wildflowers can look messy and chaotic, on closer observation a person can come to appreciate the colorful uniqueness of each type of flower, and how each one lends its colorful support to a field's multicolor profusion, an excellent example of cacophonous visual harmony. (How about that for oxymoron, not to mention a mixture of the senses!) In the end, wildflowers are wonderful because they possess a simple beauty.

As with every time I move, when I have to pack my belongings, I have been reflecting off and on about the merits of simplicity. There is a movement, a whole counterculture of people devoted to living a simple life. I say that I admire such a way of life, and I do, and that I wish to emulate it, and a great part of me does, as I see the value of it. But I am always astounded by how life gets in the way of my achieving a simple life, how my attention becomes dislodged from center by material things, trinkets that bestow a measure of status to their owners, badges that can be displayed to others. Don't get me wrong, I am not drawn to outrageously expensive luxury items, but even art, or what books a person reads, can be used as badges for display. I cannot help but feel that our acquisitiveness as human beings is just a manifestation of our fragile egos seeking approval and inclusion in our tribes of choice. But I do think Buddhism is correct, as are many other religions, like my own, Judaism, that materialism and superficiality can never satisfy. We are constantly on the chase for the next best thing, the next shining thing that we hope will impress others and fill the void, but we fail to see that the void is simply openness, a spaciousness that can support us and give us room to roam, an open palm of life relaxing with what is, and not the clenched fist of someone trying to hold onto something tightly.

I am moving back out West to be close to natural beauty again. Deserts and forests, mountains and ocean coastline, I want the natural beauty of the West to envelop my everyday life. But as intricate as nature's workings are, they are also simple, being that they simply are what they are and evolve naturally over time, without the anxiousness of trying to become something. So, as I make my move back out West, I must ask myself: What values are important to me? What matters most to me? Who am I essentially and what kind of life do I want to lead? What things do I wish to keep and what can I live without? I am often told that it is good to travel lightly through this world. Maybe it is time for me to give it a try. Maybe we all should. It might just make the world a happier place.