Reduce The Complexity

Act 107:

“It’s never too late… To Simplify Your Life

Every day our lives seem more entangled. Work often dominates and swamps our lives. Balance is hard to find. Locate your real priorities. Untangle them. Keep only the essentials. Give away, or lose, the others. The simple things are the most valuable.” – Patrick Lindsay

Quote in book: “An artist is a man who says a difficult thing in a simple way.” ~ Charles Bukowski

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been systematically simplifying my life. I didn’t realize it at first, but I look at my life today and it is so much less complicated than it used to be. I do think that I started doing it just to cope with my father’s death. I cut out all the things in my life that would make it hard to just get through the day.

I was in sleep, work, eat, talk to mom/bro, watch tv, shower, rinse, then repeat mode. I basically became a hermit. I stopped going out at night. I stopped going down to The OC. I stopped going out with my friends (well not all of them, but very very few of them). I really stopped hanging out with people who were “energy suckers”. Some people it took me longer to figure out than others.

You know the kind of people I’m talking about. The kind that is super super self-centered. Super super negative. Always casting blame on everyone else. World is out to get them. Problems seem to follow them. They’re always in some kind of trouble. And knowing me, I’m always trying to help. Always trying to fix things for my friends, but I couldn’t do it anymore. I needed to help myself. I needed to get rid of that negative energy.

I didn’t even realize how much that negative energy affected my life and my outlook. Once I started to cut these people out of my life (well not really cut them out), but just not hang out with them as much anymore, I became less stressed out. My life became easier. I suddenly had more energy. More time on my hands. I became more positive. Then I started getting involved with the Face2Face family and Kat Brooks. I started to change. My energy changed. My entire world changed. And it started with simplifying my life. Simplifying the relationships in my life. The stress in my life. The responsibilities in my life.

So for me, just the simple act of changing the people I was hanging out with, simplified my life. Unfortunately, I also cut the rest of my friends out of my life to survive the first couple of months. However, I’ve slowly let people back in and started hanging out with more people. Although, now I know who are the “energy suckers” and who aren’t. I know the ones who are there for me and who support me, instead of bringing me down. But it’s hard to stop being a hermit again. Before I had school to force me to get out of the house, but now I don’t have the excuse any more.

Since my father’s death, I’ve taken the time to simplify my life. I think I’m ready to start allowing it to get a little more complex. I do miss some people and some friends. I plan to reach out. I know that this Act is about simplifying your life, but I’ve done that for the last 8 months. I know my friends miss me and I miss some of them. I think it’s time. I think I can handle it.

Over the last few months, I’ve realized what’s important to me. What and who I need in my life to be happy. I know who I miss and who I don’t. I guess that’s what simplifying does. All of you here who come to read this every, so often. Thank you for being in my life. Thanks for making it easier and making it seem like I’m not talking to myself. I need you. I want you in my lives and I appreciate the fact that you take the time to read these. You are the positive energy and positive influences that I need in my life. You are not the “energy suckers’ I’m talking about and I will always make room in my life for you.