A Simple Universe
Henry David Thoreau
wasn’t designing inspirational
jewelry when he
wrote the following words,
but he might well have
been for the number of
times I have seen the
phrase repeated on bracelets,
necklaces and a full
variety of T-shirts, coffee
cups, magnets and other
vessels for slogans:
Go confidently in the direction
of your dreams! Live
the life you’ve imagined.
See there, that’s all there
is to it. Confidence. How do
you live the life of your
dreams? You just live it.
Okay, class over. We can all
go home now and start living
the life of our dreams.
But wait, there is actually
more to that line than
that. Thoreau followed up
with:
As you simplify your life,
the laws of the universe
will be simpler; solitude
will not be solitude, poverty
will not be poverty, nor
weakness weakness.*
In other words, you will
stop leading a ``life of quiet
desperation.’’ Your perspective
shifts. Pretty sweet.
*For my literary stickler
friends, the oft-repeated
lines above are actually
paraphrased from Thoreau’s
``Walden,’’ in which he
wrote: ``I learned this, at
least, by my experiment;
that if one advances confidently
in the direction of
his dreams, and endeavors
to live the life which he has
imagined, he will meet with
a success unexpected in
common hours. . . . In proportion
as he simplifies his
life, the laws of the universe
will appear less complex,
and solitude will not be solitude,
nor poverty poverty,
nor weakness weakness.’’
Since I started my bid to
become more mindful and
create a more mindful family
at the beginning of January,
my success has been
mixed, to say the least.
On one hand, I have
been more aware of some
things, both good and bad. I
have beená a bit more intentional
and more assertive
in how I spend my time.
And at least once a week -
usually on deadline - I take
time to think about howá
I’m doing on the mindfulness
front. But I have failed
to fully understand and
implement those wise
words of Thoreau’s.
In proportion as he simplifies
his life, the laws of
the universe will appear
less complex.
My tendency, even when
attempting to simplify, is to
complicate.
We begin to plan our
garden, one of the most basic,
primal and simple human
endeavors imaginable.
We plant food, we grow
food, we eat food. It’s simple.
But like a drunken monkey,
my mind works hard
to complicate it. ``Who needs
a nice little vegetable garden
when we could fully
landscape an acre or two
with a combination of vegetables,
flowers, fruit trees.
Hey, how about a boxwood
maze for the kids?’’
Suddenly, I am too tired
to garden, and we have not
yet set the first plant into
the ground.
I could supply dozens of
other examples, but I don’t
need to.
Thoreau was right. He
should also have added that
in proportion as you complicate
your life, the laws of
the universe will appear
more complicated.
Based on the Byzantine,
indecipherable appearance
of the universe from where
I stand, it’s clear I need to
make much, much bigger
steps toward simplification.
Like Thoreau, I’m going
to start with simplifying
my surroundings. Hello, EBay.
Hello Freecycle. For
those of you who know
where I live, this means
quality goods will be making
a regular appearance at
the curb by the mailbox.
Enjoy.
I’ll also be looking for
other things I can get rid of.
Are there commitments
that complicate rather than
simplify my life? Are there
habits, attitudes and diversions
that make life more
indecipherable?
I’m sure there are.
This mindfulness thing
isn’t as easy as keeping a
promise to recycle more and
start a compost heap. But
the reward for the hard
work is living the life you
have imagined.
Elizabeth Trever Buchinger
is going forward with
confidence. You can connect
with her at www.moremindfulfamily.
wordpress.com
This Wonderful Life
April 30, 2009
This wonderful life
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- This Wonderful Life: I can say No, but I prefer Yes If popular culture is any indication, it seems women suffer from an epidemic inability to refuse additional responsibilities. Magazines, self-help books and therapists nationwide offer heaps of advice on how to assert oneself, draw boundaries and generally say No when asked to sign on for those things for which we have little time and less interest.
- This Wonderful Life: I wish someone had told me Disclaimer: Because my son more or less demanded that I stop using him and his life as material for my column back when he was 12 or 13, I want to make it perfectly clear to all my readers (and any legal professionals who are now retained or may be retained at some future time by aforementioned son) that this column is not about him. It’s about me. The fact that he happened to turn 21 on Saturday is mere coincidence. So help me God.
- This Wonderful Life: A view through bare branches Every morning, Bee and I stand at the end of the driveway waiting for her bus and we look up into the branches of the elm tree that arches over the drive.
- This Wonderful Life: To Posey on her fourth So here we are, on the other side of 3-years-old, and it seems we both survived it intact. It wasn’t easy, but perhaps it made us both stronger.
- This Wonderful Life: A Posey by any other name... A few weeks ago, Posey gave us all new names. Or, to be more accurate, Posey gave us all one new name. Rose.
- This Wonderful Life: Are pork chops really that good? If it seems unlikely for a vegetarian (that would be me) to own a couple of table- bound pigs, it probably seems downright absurd that their names should be Tender and Delicious.
- This Wonderful Life: I sssssseeeeeee you there The first thing you should know is that I used to suffer from a snake phobia. The operative word there is phobia. It wasn’t just a matter of disliking snakes. It wasn’t a fear of being bitten. It wasn’t a simple reluctance to touch their impossibly dry, nimble bodies.
- This Wonderful Life: What’s so funny? My kids, I hope In my experience as a three-time parent, there is something absolutely, spiritually magical about the first time your child cracks a joke.
- This Wonderful Life: Who are these little girls? There are two children in my house who bear a striking resemblance to my daughters. They are adorable, smart and energetic.
- This Wonderful Life: A harvest that’s good for the soul Signs of harvest are all around. The afternoon sun glows amber over the fields and the farm stands are filled to overflowing with vegetables and fruit. We’re lucky to live in a place where we can have such an immediate connection to the food we eat.
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