This post is dedicated to the Bee Pollen Man (you know who you are).

 

My high school chemistry teacher had this sign above his chalkboard in all capital letters and large, bold print that read, “LIFE SUCKS“. When I saw that sign, I knew he was someone I could trust.

A Simple Life vs. A Complicated Life

I’m a strong believer that regardless of the challenges, or lack of challenges, you might face in your life, you have the ability to choose whether your life is simple or complicated. Whichever life you have, simple or complicated, there’s no use complaining about it because the choice is your own.

In a simple world, where you stay in the town you grew up in and that your parents and grandparents grew up in, you work a job that doesn’t push you and you stay away from new experiences, you can choose to create a dramatic grey area out of a black and white situation. You can complicate your daily life by introducing a plethora of “necessary” tasks that actually won’t end the world if not completed.

In a complex world, where you are starting from scratch, challenge yourself at work, devote your time to volunteer groups, and are learning a way of life that is completely foreign to you, you can choose to leave things simple. You can let the small and big things go, especially the things that you know won’t end the world if they occur.

So Excitable

I used to be a very excitable person, not in the sense of being happily excited for something, but in the angry sense. It is fascinating to me how a person’s entire demeanor can change over a seemingly insignificant event, like a small miscommunication or a clear accident. This is an example of complicating a simple life.

The way we interact with other people doesn’t have to be complicated, we don’t have to get so excitable over the misuse of a term or the stupid things people say. We all say stupid things. We all act in stupid ways. Acting and speaking in stupid ways is not an indication of intelligence or goodness, however. Rather, it indicates a lack of interpersonal skills.

I’m not sure if it is easier to take offense or not take offense to strange behavior. I’m leaning towards the latter. Brushing off strange interactions is a skill that takes practice, but once mastered, life in general starts seeming a lot easier. A lot more simple. Taking offense to behavior that doesn’t sit well with you introduces so many complex emotions and questions that can’t be answered. “Why did she say that?” “How did I hurt his feelings when my intention was not to hurt his feelings?”

Intention

Maybe the answer to living a simple life is following the cliche phrase “live with intention”.  The root of living with intention is just to say or do something you truly intended to do. If your intention was to be direct with someone and they took it as the world’s greatest insult, not your fault. But, if your intention was to be cruel, it is your fault if that person was hurt by your actions.

Be confident in your intention. If you don’t know exactly what your intention is, but still follow through with an action, you can’t complain about the consequences. It is your fault for not thoroughly thinking about the end goal. If you don’t set a distinct goal, you can’t really achieve it because even if you do achieve the mysterious goal, you won’t know what to do with it since you didn’t even intend for the outcome to be a goal. All of that just sounds too complicated, it would be more simple to intentionally act and hope for a specific outcome.

Living with intention leads to observing the world around you. You can start figuring out that if you act a certain way, most people react a certain way. Then when you come across the people who react in an abnormal way you can move on from the strange experience. Their problems are not your problems, but you also shouldn’t blame them for not figuring out how to live with intention. It takes time and practice.

 

In a complex world where just about anything can happen at any given moment, it is nice to simplify things. It is nice to, at least, have control over the way you react to the strange and sucky things that happen on a day to day basis. I trusted my high school chemistry teacher when I saw his “LIFE SUCKS” sign because his intention was to be honest, not to hurt the sensitive feelings of Millenials. His intention was to let us know that in his older age he had grown to realize that life sucks, but when you move on from that truth life can be great. His “LIFE SUCKS” sign made the complicated world seem more simple. It’s as simple as “life sucks, deal with it”, “people suck, deal with them” and when you master those skills by knowing yourself and knowing your intentions, the world becomes a better place even if it’s just through your own eyes.