Sunday Musings: In Appreciation of Simplicity
I think I have always preferred simple things in life.
That preference doesn't seem to have anything to do with growing older-- I preferred "simple things" even when I was little.
A red flower for Mother's Day!
More Ingredients Doesn't Mean BETTER!
I was standing in the supermarket last night, and all I wanted to do was purchase a simple loaf of bread.
Now, I don't like the pre-fab, "preservative enriched," foam rubber bread that comes in plastic bags from some factory four states over... I don't trust bread that hasn't gotten moldy or gone hard after three weeks. I swear that stuff is like Twinkies... it'll still be around after the next ice age and the Zombie Apocalypse.
So I'm in the "real" bread area, next to the bakery counter at the supermarket. And I'm finding "Rustic Olive-Garlic-Rosemary Loaf" and there's "17-grain oatmeal bran walnut twist bread" and there's "Anchovy garlic sundried-tomato pizza bread loaf" and....
Look folks, I just want a LOAF of BREAD!
A loaf of plain crusty "country style" bread. I don't need 57 varieties and flavors, I don't need it twisted, braided or otherwise disfigured; I don't need it to dance the polka or fold my laundry; I don't want a vanilla-olive-cranberry-cheese-anchovy-dental-floss loaf. I just need bread. WTF?
A Peaceful Lily Pond
Again, maybe I am just getting old, but I just can't see the point of doing "new and improved" on something that works perfectly well, to begin with. Be that food, or a lawn mower.
Complexification-R-Us...
Is it just me, or is the world growing increasingly obsessed with needlessly "complexifying" everything?
And WHY are we doing this? Why do I see advertising for restaurants that place far more emphasis on talking about being "fun" and "exciting" and "entertaining" than on actually having delicious food?
I don't want my food to entertain me, I wan't it to taste good. If it just happens to entertain me, that may be a cool fringe benefit, but most of the time I'd rather buy a movie ticket for that...
Evidently, I'm completely out-of-step with the world.
A pink wild rose
When I was little, I loved playing with Lego. All my friends would flip out out whenever new mechanical pre-built pre-assembled stuff would come out. I never "got" it. I loved the simplicity of just the "plain" bricks in different sizes and colors... and I would use a substantial chunk of my pocket money on them, and then look forward to trying to build the ever expanding structures taking shape in my imagination. I never once harbored a thought or wish that Lego bricks be "new and improved" in some way... they were perfect, as is.
At age 56, I still prefer things to be plain and simple, rather than overloaded with "features."
The cynic in me ponders whether our consumer society has been training us to feel bored when things don't constantly change... so it can market more "stuff" to us.
Yes, I did find my loaf of bread, finally. There was only one, and sadly it was a day old. But I took it, anyway...
How about YOU? Do you prefer simplicity or complexity in your life? Does simplicity bore you? Does complexity overwhelm you? Do you look for "new and improved," and adopt such products as soon a they come to market? Does it seem like life is getting ever more complex... and that previously simple things are being deliberately made complex-- often for no good reason, aside from "selling more?" Leave a comment and share your opinion-- start the conversation!
(As always, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Haha, I had to laugh and read this to my hubby. I want my blogroll to be entertaining, not my dinner roll! And you provided that.
I suggest getting a bread machine. I requested one on Freecycle and was offered 5. Anyways, you can put in three ingredients and come back in 3 hours to fresh french bread. Mmmmmmm!
Glad you enjoyed it!
For me, this entire issue extends far beyond just bread-- but thanks for the bread machine suggestion; we've considered that a few times and may end up going that route.
Yeah, I do agree that everything seems to be all dressed up in bells and whistles rather just being good in itself. That makes me turn towards DIY, hence the bread machine. However, DIY bread may be simple, but you have to plan ahead. So maybe it complicates things in a new way. Simplicity requires forethought and self discipline, and time for it to unfold. You can't just pick up a package of Simplicity at the supermarket, and life doesn't have an "easy" button. Thanks for a thought provoking post.