Simplicity
I’d like to think that I’m a gal who’s simple at heart. But yet sometimes being forced by the world or situations to be seemingly more complex. I believe all of us are simple at heart but make a constant choice on whether we want to remain simple or complex about various aspects of our lives. Most of us would like to just find the right partner & settle down & have kids, live simply & not let life crowd us into a corner.
Simplicity is good & is very easy to live if others around us were simple as well. Unfortunately, it becomes complex when those around us have other motives/objectives/thoughts that are more complex – that’s when we need to think deeper into the situation & try to read in between the lines. It makes it really hard to live life if we continue with the complexity.
I was watching the movie “The Back-Up Plan” – where this gal couldn’t find her life partner & decided to get artificially inseminated. Thereafter, she meets the guy who she falls in love with & does everything backwards in style, while her boyfriend has to come to terms with the fact that he’ll be the father to twins who aren’t his kids. To begin with, I disagree with the values of artificial insemination or IVF or any other way of getting pregnant, other than how God created us to be. I also disagree with pre-marital sex. However, I could feel for this girl as she just wanted what she thought was best in the absence of finding a life partner. Although the temptation is always there to flow against my beliefs & values, it’s important to know what we value & live by it.
It brought to mind about how everyone perceives things differently. Even the simplest of things may be differ between individuals. To some, having a simple weekend off might be going off to the forest for some hiking or admiring nature. For others, it might be just sleeping at home. I shan’t delve into that but I hope you can see my point here. In short, we’re all different individuals that God has created us with a unique mix & different things drive us. Some drive us to the point of excitement & anticipation, whilst others may drive us up the wall. :P
It’s sometimes difficult to live simply in a complex world where norms may differ with our personal values. However, it is also important to note that as we grow, we tend to grow up steeped with values that we never knew we had when we were younger – or those values might deepen or be changed over the years. I recall when I was younger, I had issues with commitment to such a great extent that the guys whom I was dating, were really patient with me as I didn’t even commit to going out with them till very last minute. On the contrary, when I grew up & realised that it was something that was frustrating, I decided that if I were to commit to something, I should stick to it & thus, ensured that i gave a definitive answer whereever possible & stuck to that commitment. I saw that value & stuck to it much later in life. I still remembered a childhood friend who I grew up with, calling me & asking if I would like to go to a party with him. I wasn’t interested with him but didn’t want to say no – so I told him I’ll let him know on the day of the party. I think the party meant a lot to him coz he ended up asking another person. He’s now happily married with 3 kids & we’re still in touch with each other.
Things became more complicated when I grew up as I saw how people were motivated – guys when motivated to do something would start off really enthusiastically & when they were motivated – whether it was being challenged or wanting to win their peers, they would go all the way out. However, gals were slightly different in terms of motivation. Perhaps it was also a mixture of personalities that allowed people to be motivated differently & also react differently. I prefer being motivated & working towards it progressively & steadily, despite it being slow – as I like to think things through, pray it through & ask God to direct my steps along the way. I wasn’t like this previously – in fact, I was rash as compared to prudent now and many a times, God had to speak to me personally about not running before His timing. I still do plan ahead & rush before God at times but I choose to do so only in my thoughts & plans but to lay it before the Lord & as He guides, I’ll work things out slowly & steadily.
In short, I pray that I’ll always be a simple gal at heart, despite the complexity of the world. However the bible also says in Mt 10:16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves”. Thus we need both to survive in this complex world. Lord, keep my heart pure & sweet before you always!
