Questions, Simplicity, and Trust

Simplicity is something that we talk a lot about in the form of tangibles, such as, "I'm living simply so am trying to not buy much." However the art of simplicity comes in many forms and can be applied to all areas of life, including some of the BIG QUESTIONS.

Today I had to go to a wedding. I always get apprehensive at the idea of weddings whether for friend or family, because I know I am going to get asked "the difficult questions." I have ready answers, however it is hard to transmit my answers without launching into a long explanation and seeming wishy washy. (This same concept applies to essay questions for scholarship, professional, and/or educational applications.)

So here are some of the BIG QUESTIONS, which even I am guilty of asking:
Where do you see yourself in the future?
What's your plan?
When are you going to get married?

The following is why I feel it is difficult to answer these questions. I trust that my life will unfold the way that it is meant to and therefore while I do have ideas of how I would like it to be, I know that it will ultimately turn out much differently than I intended. I am no where near where I thought I would be 10 years ago, however as I look back on the last 10 years I have no doubts whatsoever that every single experience was put there for a reason. I have always felt that my life has been guided, however it has been within the last year or so that I have really come to welcome and trust in that guidance. And it is that same trust and faith that allow me to feel even more simplified. I have a "worrying" demeanor, yet when I embrace that trust I am able to focus my energies on the moments at hand AND to feel so much more at peace. When it is not I who has to worry about the big pieces, how much more free I am to relish the everyday moments that I have been given.

One of my best friends used to have a quote on her fridge that said, "Make plans, but make them in pencil." How true that is. MY plans aren't always the best laid ones and therefore I have been redirected numerous times in my life. Sometimes these redirections have been simple, such as in the form of an out of the blue job offer, or traumatic, such as the illness or death of a family member. Yet in every event there has been a message to be gleaned from it and a change in focus and direction to be served from it. Not all of the past experiences I have had are ones that I would choose again (nor were they all my first choice at the time), however each one has had its place in preparing me for who I need to be today and in the future.

To some it may seem that I lack direction through my explanation, however my direction is in the forward movement of gleaning from life what I may as I endeavor to be a more faithful servant. While I admire the individuals that can tell you that they want x, y, and z from life in the form of a "life timeline," a career, and/or a spouse, I am not someone who can provide those answers. I can give general ideas of things I would like to do or "have," yet I don't feel that I have to do or have those things for life to feel complete. (Something that at this point people tend to try to placate me with by saying, "Of course you'll have those things" and then I realize they aren't really getting the point.)

Obviously I have areas of which I am passionate and those are the areas that I continue to move forward in. I feel that life is headed in the right direction and I trust that God will continue to guide my way, leading me on ahead. This simple knowledge has taken a load off my shoulders, however I don't believe that I am to just wait passively by until all the right doors are opened. While doors do open, there is no doubt in that, I still have to move forward in my trust and faith in order to realize and engage in the opportunities. Yet what freedom and simplicity is gained in embracing the trust that one can have and in the giving over of fears!

So for me, simplicity has been incorporated into many of those areas in which I am truly passionate: environmental impact, health, social justice, AND spirituality. As it is generally through spirituality and simplicity that I am able to (sort of) answer some of those nagging big questions. Makes me think twice about asking others these same questions! :-)