“Less is more.” –Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
I have never been a minimalist. I have never shied away from a project or a job because I was afraid it was too big. I have four kids of my own and our house is often full of their friends. It isn’t unusual to make meals for ten or more. Even after all these years I always believe I have time to do one more thing, room for one more activity, space to include at least one more person…
It isn’t a disrespect for simplicity that drives me as much as it is unfamiliarity or maybe an inability to focus. Things are changing for me now. Once the boastful multi-tasker and over achiever, my middle-aged mind is now only capable of a single focus. I simply cannot cook dinner and engage in three other things anymore- everything burns. More and more studies support this truth; that multitasking actually wreaks havoc on the brain and in many ways makes it harder to focus. It seems inevitable that this would be discovered as the distraction level of technology has reached a deafening crescendo.
At work, with the big leaps of fortune that my business is taking, I am now being required to simplify. This I learned today is the functional way that leads to growth. Committing to a core business and enlarging the reach of those messages and products is really all there is time for if you are serious about it. I resist, ever enticed by more good ideas; or maybe it is just being totally unpracticed at focus.
In my preferred medical approach of homeopathy, the idea of less is more reigns supreme. You stop treatment as soon as the desired effect is reached. Taking more medicine doesn’t make you more well. It goes against our tendency. If it is working, do more of it. The truth is in most things, moderation and simplicity offer more of the qualities of life that make life rich and deep.
I feel convinced that learning how to see less is more is a pivotal moment in the positivity quest. Anyway, the way things are headed, that’s the only road before me.
