People today tend to go for the complicated. Simplicity is not a preferred thing anymore. People will go for the most complicated way, solution, idea, plan, etc. The more complicated a thing is, the better. A simple thing is not an option anymore.
We admire those with complicated designs than simple designs. Gamers prefer the complicated games than the simple. And in contests, the more complicated your routine, the better your chance of winning, Consumers are impressed by complicated descriptions of products. But do they really understand what the complicated description mean?
A musician friend of mine said that he prefers jazz, blues and classical than rock and pop since it is more challenging. Pop and rock are easy and common, he says. I have to agree, being an amateur musician myself, I also prefer the more difficult than the easy (though I like rock and pop). And other musician I know has the same idea. I guess most musicians are like that - the more challenging the music is, the better.
Is that the reason why, people prefer the complicated than the simple? The challenge? The more challenging, the better? Complicated appeals to our sense of pride in our ability and intelligence?
It's also true for intelligence and thinking. Common sense is supposed to be "common" to all people, since it is a simple and practical way of thinking. But common sense is beginning to become rare. We like to complicate things more - and instead of turning to our common senses - we chose the complicated. That's why the common sense of people are beginning so "uncommon".
Here's a story to prove my point. I remember seeing a local game show on TV. I think it was called Zesto IQ Quiz Challenge. A pair of high school students were in as a team. And Bicol University High School's contestants were easily answering the questions and had a very large lead on their opponents. I admire their quick calculations on math problems, their accurate answers in trivia and their confidence. It was a sure win. The questions were like "eating peanuts" for them.
Then came this question, "What are words identical in spelling and pronunciation but different in meaning?" It was a simple question, and being a regular elementary student back then, I know the answer to be homonyms. But the contestants of BU High, being complicated students and all, answered homophones - I think they cannot believe the question has a simple answer of homonyms, so they complicated their answer and answered homophones instead.
Another pair answered homograph. But the team with lowest points - being simple students - got the correct answer. The BU high students, intelligent and complicated at that, got the wrong answer. But their "simple" opponents got it right.
Of course, the BU high students still won the contest. But that part of the contest remained in my mind up to this time.
(In high school, I went to BU High and met the brother of one of the contestant of BU High back in that contest. We had a good laugh recollecting that incident at the quiz.)
Complicated persons forgot that simple things are the most important things in life. Complicated persons tend to make the wrong things to be the center of their lives. Career person put their careers and jobs at the center of their lives and forget their families. Ambitious persons don't care if they step on others to obtain their self-centered goals. The "high-class" of our society are becoming arrogant and discriminate those in the "lower-class". Examples goes on and on.
Some people believe that these complicated things can make them happy. Money, fame, power… complicated things that will give them a stand and distinction. So, their existence revolve around complicated things. To get more and more…
This people forget that in simple things, they can find happiness. Like hanging out with friends, laughing on jokes, feeling that somebody loves and care for you, seeing a good movie, helping others, eating a delicious meal, etc. These simple things can cause a great deal of happiness.
Our Math teacher said, "Don't take life too seriously, you won't get out of it alive anyway". Fun guy… I like our Math teacher (though I get a lot of failing grades in his tests - Math is still not my subject). He is an example of a person who does not let a complicated thing, Mathematics, complicate his life. He is intelligent, yes - but he is not complicated. Being intelligent does not mean being complicated.
In Accountancy, we are taught that we should make Accounting the "center of our being", "the purpose of our life" and "love it like it was our boyfriend or girlfriend". In other words, make the complicated Accounting the most important thing in our lives. I like our accounting teacher, too. He taught us to take accounting seriously, but not to take life too seriously. Accounting may be complicated, but a person's view on it can make it simple thing… taking it seriously but will be able to enjoy it instead of fearing it -and I hope I can do it. Our accounting teacher was able to do it - maintaining a balance between complicated and simple.
If I fail the retention policy in BS Accountancy in college because of my poor performances in Math and Accounting (though I like the teachers in this subjects), it is going to be sad but I will not allow this 'complicated' things affect me badly - may the will of God be done (But I have to say this, God's will may be simple but it is grand and great).
I am practicing how to skip rope right now. I never tried this before. I am only forced to try it in college since it is a required activity in PE. But hey, I am having fun as I learn how to skip rope. I am still not to do it perfectly. But hey, I am starting to learn its principles and techniques. Skipping rope is not only for fun, but also a way to keep in shape. I do not know if I will enjoy myself in the complicated gym and the workouts there.
Skipping rope is hard. Simple things are hard sometimes - but fun and fulfilling. Just like skipping rope. I realized that thing while practicing the skipping rope.
Life is full of complicated and simple. Sometimes we need to be complicated but we should never forget that simplicity is the basic thing. Being simple is the best most of the time than being complicated. We should never complicate things when being simple is the best. Simplicity is still an option. Happiness is found in simple things. Even God himself made himself simple. Christ came to show us that simple is good.
