How About a Simpler Life?

The great grammarian William Strunk wrote, “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.  This requires not that the writer make all sentences short or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”

Amen Mr. Strunk.

 So in my muddled mind I think, “Why cannot life be like that?” Do we really need all those activities? Like, scouts, and soccer, and school, and work, and church, and schedules, and meetings, and rules? And what about systems, and plans, and theories, and lists, and tests, and interviews? Some of those things are needed, but do we really need all those things, and at what cost?

Our hectic, over-filled lives are the progeny of Industrial Age development, protestant values, rampant capitalism, and worst of all Social Darwinism (If you have to look some of these things up—it’s okayJ). Why do we need to fill our lives up so much that the cup is not only full, but it spills out all over the ground?

Think about it, and be honest…wouldn’t it be a glorious relief to just load up in a shiny Airstream trailer and park it at some remote beach. No itinerary, no timetable, and no reason to argue those points! Your biggest concern is the sand you are bringing in on your bare feet.

Or, maybe teleport to southern France and sit on an ancient, white-washed balcony looking out over the long lines of vineyards snaking across the gentle hills. Give me a copy of Wuthering Heights and a cup of green tea and I am in paradise. I bet the cell phone, I think I like so much, would skip across the lake as good as the flattest of stones.

A good friend of mine once told me when I started to build up my place, “What the hell do you want all that ‘stuff’ for?”

I asked him what he meant.

“All that crap does is tie you down—it ties you to things, and when that happens, kiss your freedom goodbye.”

 This is true.

Now some people like to be tied down. I like my space. I like some of my stuff; you would risk your very life if you attempted to assume ownership of my books. We all have things we like, but I wonder if that most precious of possessions— our time is utilized in a way that truly makes us intrinsically happy. Does it really do our kids any good to play every sport and participate in every activity? Is it really that important if we are ten minutes late for something? Will the earth stop turning? I don’t think so.

It is illogical to just give away everything and walk the earth like the Buddha; however, maybe we should reflect on our lives and the stress the world, other people, and rampant capitalism inflicts upon it. I mean…hey, I’ve become a soccer dad (how the hell did that happen?) and sometimes I love it and sometimes it is just another stone in my pack—one more place I have to be, AT a certain time.

I postulate maybe we simple fragmented humans take William Strunk’s advice about writing and apply it to life. “…no unnecessary parts…and every word tell.”

Hmm…no unnecessary things and only worry about the important stuff.

 What a novel idea.