We all start out as children, hopefully growing up in the right settings… playing with our toys, looking at the world with wonder. Everything is a Big Event. The baggage of life that we carry at this stage, in most cases, is fairly empty. As we progress on through adolescence, each year the weight of that baggage increases. As children, our main concern was being nurtured, loved by our parents, and finding where we fit in the family structure. In adolescence and teenage years we started to form additional relationships and friendships outside the family. Adulthood brings with it the roles of being a parent, a spouse, and a breadwinner, each day making additions to the luggage of life. If all goes well, there’s no problem. But, it isn’t surprising how easily we can get bogged down.

Playing different roles in life can get real tiring. It’s no wonder that as we get older there feels like there isn’t enough hours in the day to accomplish all that we need to do. Our days of childhood feel like a glistening memory when we felt we could handle it all. It’s not hard to understand that as we get older we feel we are starting to forget things…well, it’s no wonder….for many of us our minds are now having to handle at least three times the amount of information as before. We’re not “losing our minds,” we’re just very busy people. Hey, what happened to all the leisure time we were supposed to have…the four day work week? Some do….not many.

So how can we make things a little easier? First, don’t punish yourself for feeling overwhelmed. Second, work on surrounding yourself with as much good, positive input and love as possible. Third, try to let go and cast off some of the clutter that has accumulated over the years. We tend to think, in society, that the more that we accumulate, the happier we will be. But what’s not mentioned is that with each accumulation comes responsibilities that sometimes we may not care to handle. It’s easier to ride a bike then to haul a heavy load.

So why simplicity? Because the simpler we make our lives, the happier we are. If all we had to do was concentrate on what really is important, things would make more sense. For each of us, it may involve different solutions, but you know what I mean. Everything doesn’t have to become a big deal….not everything is life-threatening…no, we won’t die if we don’t do it in five minutes….different things have different priorities. They are not all equal.
We look around for solutions to our problems under every rock, and in every nook and cranny, because our intelligence tells us there has to be a complicated and profound solution to the situation. Have you ever asked a child for the answer to an adult problem? You will be amazed at their answer. They speak from their hearts.

Listen to your heart,

Jennifer Avalon
© 1999 Jennifer Avalon