For those who have or are living complex lives,
the word simplicity has a certain favorable ring to it. It is probably one of the most important
expressions or words of our time.
A friend of mine reminded me the other day of a
perfect story to illustrate the value of simplicity and our innate human nature to avoid it:
There was a fisherman named Mario who lived in
Mexico who would wake up daily at 3 a.m. and head out to a boat that he would
rent to catch fish that he would sell to local restaurants. Each morning he would head on down to the
marina, get in his rented boat, fish from 4 a.m. to about 8 a.m. When he returned he would deliver the fish to
restaurant owners that he had established a routine business with. After delivering the fish to the restaurant
owners, he would go home and take his two children to school. After dropping the kids at school, Mario would
have breakfast with his wife, he would cook lunch for the 2 of them and just
after lunch they would take a siesta.
Normally after the two of them picked up their kids from school they
would head home to prepare a big meal for their family and extended family. Most evenings would end with Mario, his
several brothers and friends playing guitar, listening to music, and relaxing
together.
One day a friend sat Mario down to explain to
him that he was doing everything wrong! The friend explained that if he fished
longer in the morning he could catch more fish and if he caught more fish he
could sell more fish and then someday he could hire a second fisherman to help
him and maybe even buy his own boat and at one point Mario could open up an
office and manage the fishing business from the office, and at some point down
the road the business would be so big that he could go “public” with it and
then sell it for LOTS of money. He
explained that by growing Mario’s business Mario would have more time for
himself, more time with his family, and more joy in his life when he was
older. He exclaimed, “this is the road
to riches Mario that you don’t even know your missing and I will help you get
there.”
Mario quietly listened to his friend as he
looked down at his feet. When his friend
was done talking Mario looked up slowly to his friend and said, “Respectfully,
I decline”. Mario’s friend was
shocked…“Why would you refuse my offer.
What could possibly stop you?”
Mario asked, “let me get this straight, if I
grow my business as you recommend and hire employees and buy my own boat and
rent an office and grow my business until it goes public and then sell the
business…I will get more time”. Mario
looked into his friends eyes and he slowly smiled “so what your telling me is that if I do all
these things you recommend someday down the road I might have time to have
breakfast with my wife and make lunch for her and then take a siesta and maybe
someday when my business is really big I can have time to pick my kids up after
school and make dinner for family and extended family and play guitar with my
brothers and friends into the evening as we relax. “ Mario’s friend was speechless as he realized
what Mario was trying to say. Mario
already had it all.
To live simplistically we begin to learn that
our life already possesses all the joy and blessing we have ever wished
for. The tendency is to think we have to
run the marathon to get the medal. We
already have the medal in many cases and we don’t even know it.
“In character, in manner, in style, in all
things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This was lovely. Thank you.
ReplyDelete