Don’t Be Complicated

“Our life is frittered away by detail… simplify, simplify.”

—HENRY DAVID THOREAU

The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He helped and saved me.

—Psalm 116:6

Since this book is about simplifying life, it might seem obvious that we should avoid being complicated, but just in case anyone is missing it, I thought I would talk about it. Are you like I once was? Can you complicate what begins as a simple gathering? Are you so addicted to trying to make things so perfect and impressive that they turn into a nightmare rather than the dream you had in mind?

Did you know most of the little details we struggle over are the ones nobody notices but us, and those numerous details are what keep us from enjoying the simple life? And, it turns out, the people we are trying to impress don’t really care anyway.

When we built our first home, I remember laboring extensively over the water faucets and door handles. One day a friend asked me about my water faucets because she was now building a home, and I could not even remember what my faucets looked like. Now that is sad! I frustrated myself over something I could not even visualize later. We have built two other homes since then, and I have yet to have anyone come into my home and stare at the water faucets and door knobs. If they are really important to you, spend all the time you want, but if in the long run it is not going to make that much difference, get something that looks good and move on.

Sometimes checking out all your options only confuses you. Most people (especially women) want to look at everything in town before making a decision, and more than likely they end up getting something they saw three days and fourteen stores ago they really liked but were too afraid to settle on. Or they get so confused, they end up getting nothing. If you want to simplify your life and save some time, try buying what you like when you see it and don’t keep looking for days, just in case you see something you like better. Yes, occasionally you might see something and think, Oh gee, I wish I would have seen that before I bought what I did, but that rarely happens.

Work at having a simple approach to everything you do. Life is too short to live it frustrated.