It's been said before and it will be said again: Life is Complicated. Yes, it can be complex, difficult, messy, inconvenient, tiring, seductive, interesting, awe inspiring. Sometimes it is too much to handle and sometimes it is a breeze. One person's simple life is another person's complex life. Another trite saying is "that it is all in how you view it". Maybe...
I think that the current trend in American society is toward the over-the-top complicated. I'm not trying to be a luddite, but there are a LOT of behaviors that are very common and probably really not necessary. Just to throw a few examples out: Do we REALLY need to be in touch with everyone we know, every single minute of the day and night? Is it REALLY necessary to tell those same people and millions of totally unknown people that your lunch wasn't a good idea due to the intestinal twinges you are having? Do we REALLY need to have the absolute latest update in every technological item invented? Will everyone REALLY think less of us because we can't make amazing napkin origami or have all our rooms look like a magazine? Will the world REALLY stop if we let those little lines around the eyes stay there?
Those are just a few of the many questions we should be asking ourselves. Ultimately, this complexity has to be paid for. Quite literally. So often people are working such long hours and are unable to truly enjoy all of the 'stuff' they have accumulated. I sometimes think that Americans are trying so hard to stay in touch with so many people that they forget to stay in touch with the people that really count: their families, the beings that are sharing an abode with them. No gadgets needed, just walk into the room and say "Hi". One step to de-complicating our lives.
