Until recently, before starting this magazine, I’ll admit I did very little reading of blogs, or to put it more succinctly, none at all. This lack of prior interest in no way reflects how impressed and even slightly envious I am of people who write blogs – it takes creativity, intelligence and dedication, not to mention courage. The world of blogs is new to me and so I hope that you will persevere with me as I go through my own growing process.
One theme that I’ve come across over the last few weeks, and buzzed in my ear like an errant mosquito, is the endeavor to simplify things which by nature are complicated. I think simplicity is great, if it’s applied to things that are truly simple. Nonetheless, there is a very nasty and cunning pitfall associated with simplicity that tends to blindside us. As humans, we are unfortunately in love with the idea of simplicity, and this can be a problem.
To give you some context, below is an example of what I’m talking about, an excerpt from a post I read a few weeks ago.
“Simplicity = Understanding. If it’s complicated, it probably isn’t correct. The hierarchy/pyramid of “correctness” or truth: Simple is on the top and complicated is on the bottom. If it takes more than three short sentences to explain…you don’t know what you’re talking about. Wow! That was a loaded introductory paragraph! This statement I’m making applies to all of Life…including Pilates. Look for simplicity.”
Indeed, a loaded paragraph it was but it did its job and got me thinking – hard. It motivated me to offer a counter perspective; I propose that if the answer is simple it is most likely not fully understood. It will go more than 3 sentences, but I don’t mind and I hope you don’t either.
So let’s dig in.
When there is a complicated matter that is difficult to comprehend, there is an element of the unknown combined with that which we think we already know. This element of the unknown puts the individual on shaky ground. Nietzsche had something wise to say about the trouble the unknown can present.
“To trace something unknown back to something known is alleviating, soothing, gratifying, and gives moreover a feeling of power. Danger, disquiet, anxiety attend the unknown – the first instinct is to eliminate these distressing states. First principle: any explanation is better than none…The cause-creating drive is thus conditioned and excited by the feeling of fear…” –Friedrich Nietzsche
As Nietzsche notes, dealing with the unknown can be disturbing, so we endeavor to simplify it in order to find comfort and gain control of the situation. “Any explanation is better than none.”
If we actively look for simplicity it’s most likely we will find it. And with an explanation firmly in hand, we then feel that we know something. Behavioral psychologists say that this state of being actually releases chemicals in our brain that make us feel good. We literally become addicted to the simple explanation. Whether or not the answer we came up with is incorrect is irrelevant in initiating this chemical release, just that a conclusion has been found. That is why some people get so angry when you challenge their beliefs. You are literally taking away their comfort and security.
But when it comes with working with the body, do we not all intuitively know that things are involved and complex?
So an ingredient in our fallible humanity is that we are in fact in love with simplicity, and strongly resist its release. I believe this is true for all of us, all the time, to some extent or another, thus the need to take the risk in challenging our own and each other’s beliefs.
The human being is complex and anything that we apply to that complicated and wonderful creation might be able to be explained in short and simple terms but we cannot possibly understand the impact we have on the human being we work with, and probably never will. The depth is unfathomable, the dimensions and the way they relate to each other are limitless, and can simply not be reduced to simple terms.
Looking for simplicity limits the ability to grasp that. Why, you may ask? Because when we have devised an explanation that we feel satisfied with, there is no urgent need to further observe and find out. The investigation has ended, and the intellect has moved on.
But if we dare to resist the need for the comfort of simplicity, and realize that we will never fully understand, then we are more likely to be alert and present, with a watchful humility and openness to seeing the new.
And paradoxically, it is in this state that understanding flourishes.
A wonderful, and necessary state to be in for our own personal expansion and for human evolution, to continue as we and it so earnestly wish to do.
My advice, be wary of simplicity, it can bite you in the butt.