Complexity

One incentive to reach a state of simplicity in my life practice is to position myself to deal with life's complexity with a clear mind. By keeping my own life simple, I am more capable of expending thought and patience in the face of complicated situations. This is a strong element in Zen philosophy, which has influenced me.

A current example is the unfolding complexity of the Martin-Zimmerman case. While some are understandably giving way to their rage and outrage, I am trying to keep a clear mind as I consider the complex issues involved. Name calling and snap judgments are poisonous in these situations. It is important to separate grieving from understanding.

I consider two young men who were raised in a period when criminality has been packaged and sold in rap videos and video games. I consider young men who were taught by adults to be who they were when they encountered one another. I think of all the elements which led to the fatal action of the one against the other. While the outcome seems simple to many, the simplicity is perhaps just a way of dealing with the complex reality of life in an overarmed and over-drugged America with vast social and environmental problems.

As an obsessive person by nature, I try to avoid vortexes of complexity in the simple day-to-day of my life. However, I also try to keep an awareness of the complexity of human social situations. Walking the path of simplicity through an awareness of complexity is part of the balancing act of humanist practice.