Simplicity

This picture always makes me smile and often makes me laugh. I actually have it as the wallpaper on my phone. I love to have the front door of my house open to let in the light – it’s cheery, welcoming, and just plain homey. As you can see, Jake and Sam like it too. The problem is that Jake barks at anything and everything as he looks out -- cars driving by, rabbits across the street or in the yard, people walking by, leaves blowing by, you name it, he’s telling it who's boss. Seriously, it drives me crazy and while we’re working on it, sometimes I just have to close the door.

The word that comes to mind when I look at this picture is “simplicity”. The boys don’t have any complexity in their dog lives. Maybe that’s why it seems to me they enjoy all the simple little pleasures. A walk? Love it, let’s go! A ride? It doesn't get any better than that! You’re home? Yeah, somebody to play with me! An open door? Woo Hoo! Apparently I speak and understand “dog”:)

There’s nothing magical about the open door, nothing sophisticated, and certainly nothing complex about it. Yet I find myself happy and content looking out that open door and remembering the days of simplicity in my life. At what point did simple become bad? Was it really even a conscious decision? I definitely don’t remember deciding one day to make things more complicated but in the end I find that I have. I look around wondering what I can eliminate from my house, my car, my office, and my life that will simplify things once again. Why do we have to pack our calendars with activities to feel fulfilled? Is it just to brag about how busy we are? To feel important? To avoid something else we don’t want to focus on? And the questions go on….

I hope you contemplate these questions with me. We aren’t designed to be too busy for relationships; we’re designed for relationships. Life comes to us just once, this minute won’t be back, and opportunities are flying by. So it makes sense to live in and treasure this moment. Enjoy sitting in front of an open door and relax while the world plods on… Lie in the grass and identify cloud-pictures… Sip lemonade while taking in the aroma of freshly cut grass… Read a book for fun…Sit side-by-side with a friend, just because...