Live Simply

A friend of mine recently said this to me: 'Get over yourself. Enjoy life.' I wasn't entirely sure what she meant by the first imperative, but the second command, to "Enjoy life," has visited my thoughts frequently since then.

It reminds me of the teaching of a minor prophet who spoke & wrote on behalf of God. He communicated that what God expects of human beings are the marks of goodness: just actions, a love of kindness, and a humble walk with God.

I try to be fair. I try to be kind. But
I'm not sure I know what humility is. Or is not.

Take a sparrow or a lily or a child. They don't worry or are fretful about the future. Their metaphorical stomachs aren't twisted, tight, or taut like rope knots, leading them down a life path of angst or tension.

They are simple. Each moment is its own entity to be embraced, experienced, and enjoyed. Day and night, they move humbly along the current of life, innocent of causation and all the happier for the lack of it.

My Bartlett's says that in Zorba the Greek, Nikos Kazantzakis remarks, "How simple and frugal a thing is happiness...All that is required to feel that here and now is happiness is a simple, frugal heart." Perhaps innocence and frugality and simplicity are fruit from a similar vine--the vine of humility.

Maybe like a minor prophet, my friend was saying that I should let go of my over-developed, hyper-active sense of preference and instead embrace the heart of life, which is good and full. Perhaps to enjoy a life lived amidst God and community requires a paradigm of humble love. Perhaps seeing the universal Spirit of God in every momentous second and appreciating the miracle of living is a calling to which more individuals should listen.

A loss of self.
A love of God. A love of others.

Be simple. Enjoy life. Do justice. Love kindness.

It is possible, though, that my friend was just expressing irritation concerning my hesitance to listen to an album from her favorite band. Possibly, this is all hogwash and I am yet again too verbose.

I choose to believe, however, that at that moment, she was a minor prophet. I hope that I am and forever remain both a hearer and a doer of this word, that this resurgent love of simple humility would not depart from me.