Life is so complicated--NOT

"Life is so complicated." "It is so hard to make the right decision." "It is all so confusing." How many times have you heard those phrases? Actually how many times have you used those phrases? Why is that life seems so complicated, confusing and difficult?

Life becomes complicated when we aren't present. We are thinking about the possible effects of our decisions on the people immediately effected by the decision, possibly how the people next to the people immediately effected and if we want, we can ripple out this process as far as needed to become paralyzed in making a decision and arrive at complicated. At a summer picnic a young mother was recounting to me how difficult life was with two small children (ages 6 and 9). She was trying to decide about summer camps for her children. There were the intellectual camps that would help put her children ahead, the sport camps that would increase their physical prowess, the art camps that would develop their creativity and finally the camps they wanted to go to. She was terrified that if she didn't choose the right camps she would be causing some sort of irreparable harm to her children. Apparently she sweated over these decisions for months and finally decided to enroll them in everything even though they didn't have the money for the camps. And even though the decision had been made she was now trying to decide which camps to cancel because her husband had acted "so unsupportive" when he found out the costs of the camps and told her to cancel them.

I certainly agree that life can be complicated when we try to figure out the possible effects of our decisions, but what is really happening when one tries to figure out the outcomes? In reality the need to know the answer, the need to figure out what is best, is the need to protect ourselves from that inner voice that tells us that somehow we did it wrong or bad. There is another voice, another intelligence if you will that operates within each of us. It is the voice of Life that guides, prompts or points the way for all actions. In my experience this voice is very quiet and not demanding and it takes practice to become accustom to hearing it much less following its guidance. Listening to this voice, what is feels right in this moment is the best way to keep life simple. Desire, action, pause, experience the reaction. Reset. Desire, action pause, reaction.

If this young mother followed this process it would have gone something like this. She had a desire to enroll her children in camp. She would have researched some camps, perhaps consulted the children as to the best camps for them (and maybe her husband regarding the finances) and made a decision. She needn't have worried about whether she was hurting their chances for a sports scholarship or entry into a prestigious college. She simply would have made the decision without undue hand-wringing.

I know I make it sound simple but even the most complicated situations boil down to what is right in this moment. Focusing on the next step and not the end of the journey simplifies everything. The most complicated processes can be broken down into a series of small doable steps. And trusting that inner Intelligence makes it all the easier.