Keep It Simple

It was not without reason that Confucius said - "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."

Time and again, in my most solemn moments, I have feelings which reflect Confucius's statement. I wonder about the manner in which my life has become unnecessarily knotted. 

A Knotted Life

Was my life meant to be knotted? Or was it meant to be just simple and pure? And what is the reason behind this tangle? 

Is it the anguish over certain things resulting in annoyance? Or is simple disappointment getting exaggerated into unnecessary despair? Is the lack of affection the cause of envy? Or is boredom causing a sense of emptiness, thereby preventing the soul from feeling contended?  

How I wish the feelings were simplified!!

Keep It Simple

If things were simple, the life wouldn't have been knotted. It wouldn't have been unnecessarily complex. Keeping things simple is a beautiful idea. And wouldn't it be great if we strive to achieve this state of mind.

A simple life would definitely evoke a smile of contentment.

You must have heard about Sherlock Holmes. His standout quality is his amazing deduction skills. You would have been impressed by his reasoning skills. Even his trusted friend Dr. Watson used to always ask him on how he managed to solve a complex situation.

And Holmes' answer was -  "Elementary, My Dear Watson". It explains that Holmes kept his thought process very simple and reached a logical solution.

Sherlock Holmes Dr Watson Elementary Dear Watson

Let me go back to my Engineering college days. Somewhere in the 6th semester, we had a difficult subject - Signals And Systems. It was extremely difficult to assimilate the concepts presented, and devising solutions for the stated questions was challenging. 

One day, in the class, the bright teacher commented - "If it ain't simple, it ain't a solution". She had a broad smile on her face. And I looked at her in awe. 

Her guidance has stood by with me till date. Aren't we lucky to have such great teachers?

Simplicity

Yesterday, I was thinking about Archimedes. 

Every time I have a complex problem to solve, I have a momentary thought about the question at hand while having a bath. I remind myself of Archimedes, and wish that maybe tomorrow or some day soon, I would be lucky to exult "Eureka" like him.

And by God's grace, the solution for the question at hand did pop up while having a bath. In hindsight, the solution felt so obvious. Maybe that's why Albert Einstein said - "When the solution is simple, God is answering."

Eureka Archimedes

I wondered why does Archimedes, and me, and may other people like me get some good ideas while having a bath. Well, I think, it's because things are simple when we are having from a bath. We are oblivious from the world. We are all alone. Our life is simplified.

And every time you meet babies or little kids, you can see the happiness reflecting on their faces. I think it's because they keep their life simple.

Sweet And Simple Baby

Steve Jobs was right when he said - "That's been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains."

And supporting him is the financial guru Warren Buffett who asserted "The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective."

Keeping things simple is not indeed easy. However, every attempt made towards it would stand in good stead.

Keep it simple.