Last week I saw the results of a 100-year-long Study of Happiness by Harvard University. What did the 36,475 days of data reveal? Just one, measly statistically significant correlation I’m afraid.
I also watched a documentary that visited a small slum in Mumbai. A slum where, even though most inhabitants can only afford three out of the four walls they’d like, they placed higher than the average American in a recent global happiness survey.
It’s made me think about simplicity a lot.
About how peace is uncovered not achieved. Found by removing what obscures it not by doing that which brings it.
And about how excellence is found through pruning not planting. By purging what is unneeded not by adding what might be missing.
The quotes on perfection and simplicity are as endless as they are overused.
Far more eloquent is this.
One of the simplest performances on YouTube.
And also, quite probably, the most faultless.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkX4MyDeIqI
Ps. * If you’re inclined to dismiss this as, well, overly simple, try and do something you’re good at. Simply.
Draw a horse with three lines. Write a poem with 10 words. Both are eminently possible.
You’ll find quite quickly, that nothing is as hard as doing things simply.
As Da Vinci said, Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
And yes, I do realise adding a postscript to a post about simplicity is just a little ironic.
Recent Comments