People with ships from Southeast Asia, Moken, have very little property. They can carry in their boats only what they need most. They also do not have the word "worries" in their language. When there was a tsunami, they were careful and alert to the water. They noticed that the water was coming to the whole beach and then retreating away. They remembered their stories and myths about what happened to the seas, so they took their boats into the deep water and survived the tsunami. The local fishermen did not stay. Their ships were destroyed. They did not watch. They were not careful.
How can we be cautious when our lives are overwhelmed with so many possessions, we are so attached to many material things, we have so many desires? Will we have time to remember the stories, watch and move the little boat into the deep water? Or will we be like local fishermen, oblivious to the current need, sunk by the tsunami of materialism? We live in a culture where we are constantly bombarded, our attention is continuously distracted by ten million things. It requires our attention, desire to consume, buy, and spend our money and time. And we do not even know the depths and subtleties of this network of consumerism, its powers of deception.
How can we create a space of clarity, vigilance? How can we get back to what is essential? How can we remember what really matters, what gives meaning and context to our daily lives? How can we return to the simplicity of our essential nature, which provides space to the sacred?
First, we must acknowledge that our entire culture is caught up in unnecessary desires and does not recognize the poison of accumulation for what it is. We are conditioned and under pressure to want more and more - this is the myth of continuous economic progress. This myth has become a monster that has destroyed our ecosystem, taking our money and life energy. He has polluted our consciousness with slogans and jingles designed to manipulate. And we do not even know the power of magic on us, feeding us with false promises of a better life, assuring us that "things will get better" by buying the product. We are under pressure to consume packaged food and even packaged spirituality. We no longer know the ingredients of our lives.
Second, we must have the strength to say no. To counteract this toxic flow, to counter the power of empty promises and the corporations behind them, we must restore essential simplicity, return to what we need, not what we think we want. Only then can we begin to listen to the music of life, to pay attention to the internal and external needs of the Earth. Only then can we become alive with what is sacred and true.
Third, we must learn to distinguish, to cleanse our inner and outer mess. In the classic love story of Eros and Psyche, one of Psyche's almost impossible tasks is to sort a huge pile of seeds. Like the Psyche, we must sort out the many things in our lives. We must realize what is valuable, what we really need. It is never easy, but just as a few valuable ants help the Psyche, we have help, in the form of instinctive wisdom, a quiet quality that is present if we pay attention. And it gets easier with time and practice. As we clear more space in our inner and outer lives, we become more attuned to what is needed, more aware of deceptions and false promises of unnecessary "things," and see clearly how our possessions capture our attention.
Practicing simplicity
Start by paying extra attention to your simple daily activities, such as getting out of bed, lowering both feet to the floor, and straightening. You are awake and alive. Be aware as you move towards the bathroom, towards the kitchen - towards coffee or tea. Be thankful for the water in the sink, for the oranges that made your juice, for the milk in your coffee. Drink slowly, appreciating your food. Respect the family, the sun coming to the window, the beauty you see in your partner or children. Simplicity is revealed slowly, in quiet moments, when you can see, feel, touch, smell. Move through the day with respect and openness.
Make an honest inventory of your life. Take a look at the things you have that take up time and space. Take a look at your activities and responsibilities. Which of these things do you really need? What are the habits that take up space and weigh? What reflects your actual values, nourishes your soul, touches you with love? Do you need or just want that new job, a new activity that caught your eye? In the short term, try to function without some things in life. You may find that you do not need them at all.
Let nature teach you. In essence, we are students of simplicity. The way the tree grows towards the sun, the way the cat stretches by the fire, the way the seasons come again and again can teach you the simplicity of what it is. The essential nature of our own lives - the cycle of birth, death, suffering, joy, and even liberation - also reflects this simplicity. We can make our lives complicated depending on how we relate to fighting death, avoiding suffering, seeking happiness and freedom - but that is our superior experience, not what it is. Look for ways to adapt to the natural simplicity of life that underlies the complications of our human experience.
Go back again and again to what is simple, to what does not change over time, to what shines through the fog. Ask yourself if you need more than that? Do we need more than the beauty of an apple tree in the spring, a warm house in the winter, the way water flows through the stream, a cup of tea with friends? Do we need more in life than love?
Practicing simplicity does not mean giving up everything, quitting our job, moving to a mountain hut, and living in isolation. So, to appreciate what we have in life, what sustains us, brings us joy and meaning, and dedicate ourselves to those activities, people, and things. While we may change some of our habits or end up with more minor material things in this process, simplicity imposes a return, not a rejection - looking in and out instead of looking elsewhere. When we live from a place of clarity, we naturally realize that we need less and are open to life.
Do not be afraid of simplicity. You can feel it as sharp and empty because it is without psychological complexity and covers the accumulated need and desire. But our attention and our natural reaction - gratitude and respect - will help transform that sharpness into the wealthiest human experience.
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