These days, I find it is best for me to approach life with simplicity. This idea is ancient, as old as the world, and certainly it has long been present in Japan.
But saying the words are easy. Finding space in daily life for simplicity…well, that’s sometimes hard. And for me,
simplicity and a sense of humor go hand in hand. It’s easier to keep things simple if I can smile about it.
Today was a good example. It’s the end of December. Year end is approaching, which means there are many tasks to complete in order to close out 2020 well. I call these things my New Years “to-do” list. Do you have one too?
My list usually involves cleaning everything in sight: the house, the office, the car. It means writing emails long overdue, completing professional projects and personal accounting. It means eating cleansing food and making room for meditation and reflection about the year that has passed. When these items are accomplished, the year feels digested, so to speak. Then, and only then, can I turn to the new year.
It always feels good to complete these tasks but lately, that list feels burdensome, heavy. There is very little simplicity in it.
So this year, I decided to clean and clear only what felt truly important. I decided to forego emptying all the closets and throwing away / donating what is no longer needed.
Until this morning. I was looking for a favorite set of bamboo “maihashi” from Kyoto, and a beautiful Japanese fan which I always keep in my purse. Suddenly there weren’t where I usually keep them. I emptied the purse but these two items were nowhere to be seen.
So I began to search for them….in my home and my office, in my car. Minutes turned into an hour and still, no bamboo chopsticks or textile fan. So I kept looking.
And as I searched it occurred to me: “Why not clean this cabinet while I am looking.” First one cabinet, then another. Then came the closets. Two hours later, the closets were all cleaned and two big piles of donations and trash were in the center of the house.
Still, no chopsticks and fan.
With a loud exhale, I turned back to my purse where the search began. To my disbelief, there they were, the chopsticks and fan that I had just spent three hours searching for.
I sat on the floor and giggled for 15 minutes. The universe had found a charming way to get me to do my house cleaning after all.
The beauty of it was that the cleaning came about so naturally, so simply. I was just searching for two favorite items from Japan. I had no heavy “MUST DO” energy in this process. My mind was light.
The message to me was loud and clear: Why struggle with your to-do list? If you really need to do something, you’ll find a way to do it that fits the moment and is without strain.
Why do humans put so much pressure on themselves? Do dogs judge themselves that way? Do you see cats, birds, horses, fish, turtles doing this? Certainly not.
So let’s keep things simple. Work with motivation, not pressure. Tasks get done, but the rhythm and timing come from within. You can breathe through it all. You can feel your body relax as you work to complete what needs to be done. Most of all, the heavy mental pressure of what “should” be done is gone.
It’s enormously freeing. What better way is there to start the new year?