Simplicity Meets Perspective

What exactly does it mean to simplify one’s life? I Google-d “simple life” and came up with more references to Paris Hilton than I care to mention. Ahhh, the irony. A subsequent “simplify your life” search at Amazon.com netted 1,219 self-help books: instruction manuals, if you will, authored by Mary, Mary’s mother-in-law, and Mary’s mother-in-law’s neighbor’s dentist. The variety of available titles would suggest that Americans are eager to embrace the concept of simplification and that publishers are happy to oblige.

I admit that I haven’t read any of these books, but they seem to focus on two primary themes. The first is prioritization: Lighten your schedule, get rid of your debt, stop trying to be perfect, change your life! The second theme is organization: De-clutter your desk, clean out your closets, plan your meals for the week, change your life!

My own quest for simplicity is… excuse the pun… a little more simple and lot less organized. To me, simplifying is about worrying less and taking the time to appreciate the people and things around me more. This life directive was ingrained in me quite possibly from the time I was a child: My parents had a plaque posted in the sunroom that said, “Don’t hurry, don’t worry, and don’t forget to smell the flowers.” As I got older, I gained the perspective to realize just how important this mantra really was and how simple it was to adopt.

Perspective. Knowing how to separate what is important from what is unimportant in your own life. Isn’t that the key? Perspective is something you can only acquire with age and life experience. And for most people, it’s not something that Mary and her mother-in-law can decide for you.

No Phone, No Internet, No Problem?

56 hours and counting. Our phone and Internet have decided to completely stop working. After several tense cell-phone calls with our provider, which shall remain nameless, I am at my wit’s end. My sanity is in the hands of Time Warner (oops!), and I don’t like it.

Wait a minute. Shouldn’t I be grateful for this? Am I not the one who is trying to simplify my life? Am I being tested?

Take a deep breath, Jennifer. The world will not come to an end if you can’t get online for a few days.

But it does make me wonder, when did we become so dependent on – and even addicted to – having this instant access to information? There are other ways… knowledgeable friends, daily newspapers, reference librarians… but they’re just not as convenient. (Reference librarians still exist, don’t they?)

Time Warner will be happy to know that I’m not remotely ready to give up the “blazing fast speed” of my cable modem. And if said modem acts up again, I’ll gladly take a short vacation from my need-information-now addiction. At least, I hope I will.

Fortune Cookie Says...

Even when I let CJ choose the cookie, I always seem to end up with the... uh... "fortunate" fortune.

I nabbed this one on Friday night at our favorite Chinese restaurant and thought it was rather timely, considering the theme of my new blog. The world is so full of beautiful - and perhaps ordinary - things. I truly hope I don't ever lose the ability to find them and - more important - appreciate them.

Small-Town Girl in the Wannabe-Big City

Growth is good, right? And Charlotte is growing, growing, growing. Just open the newspaper… more schools, wider roads, a new wing at SouthPark mall, and the possibility of (gasp) a Trump condo building! Everything is new, clean, fresh, and expensive-looking – a developer’s dream. And yet, the enchanted feeling I had when I moved here in 1998 is fading. Where is our sense of history? Our sense of authenticity? Our sense of people who are real, and true, and unabashedly middle class?

We have a newer, bigger, better arena, so let’s tear down the antiquated (19-year-old) Coliseum. Mom-and-pop restaurants? Nahhhh, we need another parking deck. And Farmer Jim can’t afford his property taxes anymore, so we might as well buy him out and build a new subdivision... with a quick 20-mile, hour-plus commute over 485.

I’m not against growth and change. But, the changes I’ve seen in this city within the last few years make me long for a simpler life – one without traffic, sprawl, or pretense. “Why don’t we move to the country?” I casually suggested to my husband earlier this week. “Way, way out there. Buy a couple acres, live off the fatta the land, get a couple more dogs…” A quick sideways glance indicated he had either not heard me or tactfully chose not to respond to my plea.

There are compelling reasons to stay in Charlotte. Lots of job opportunities. Plenty of fantastic independent restaurants. A network of supportive friends. The Panthers. And last but not least, my husband’s pension.

But is it possible to stay here without becoming a slave to the system? Is it possible to slow down and simplify without shutting down or being shut out? Only time will tell.