Complicating Life

This week has been pretty dreary as far as weather wise in SW WI. I am trying to adapt to shorter days. It is taking me a while to adapt, and I feel really tired most days, but with that said... this week has been rather good overall.

I promised to post my 21 life lessons that I have identified in the work of fiction I am writing about a spiritual journey of 7 individuals. Here is the first lesson I would like to share:

" Life does not have to be complicated. We are the creators of our own complexity through the daily choices we make."

This lesson is really resounding with me this week. In my "day" job, I have been working on a project a couple months now. The project has gone full circle, and the route we originally intended to go with it is back in the scene. The point I want to make with this, is that I "over thought" the whole project from the beginning. I should have kept it simple and straight forward like it was at first. I tend to make things more complicated than what they need to be. The work project showed me that if I would have stuck with the original plan, I would have had better outcome when presenting it to others. My advise -- keep it simple, and listen to your gut -- it will let you know most times if things are going to get too fussy.

In the creative process we can see complexity creep into it where it really should not be. For instance if you want to do a drawing - dive in! Don't stare at the paper and ponder if you are using the right weight or at the pencil that you are using and wonder if it is the right hardness. Sure... the outcome may be slightly different if you used different mediums, but there should be a freedom and fun in creation; we should not let ourselves get caught up in the weeds of complexity.