I have a hat. It’s more of a cap, really. It’s sort of this muted greenish color that’s popular these days. I bought it for the express purpose of hiding my hair, which at the time was extremely shaggy with no prospect of getting cut for at least a week.

I guess my point is, I like this hat. I don’t like it to the degree I like my fedora or my many cowboy hats. But I really can’t wear those in public without feeling pretty corny and pretentious. The thing I like about this hat is the big word ‘Solitude’ written on the front. Of the many ‘tudes that exist, Solitude has got to be my favorite. On the back it says ‘Simplify Life.’ This I also like. If I had the option, I would probably don a simple linen robe, shave my head, pack a few belongings in a sack and wander the country with a bamboo pole meditating and seeking friendly sparring matches with other wandering warriors. Junk like that.

But much like my cowboy hats, the society in which I live does not allow such behaviors. At least not without stripping yourself of the dignity that such a wandering life once commanded. Now they are called bums, and are not graciously welcomed into other men’s dojo’s to live and go about simple work.

The best I could hope for is to sell most of my stuff, and move out to a simple country cottage. But not before paying off my college loans. And not before making the money to make the down payments on the cottage and the surrounding land. And not without paying taxes and investing in a retirement plan. And for all this I would need some sort of job or career. I think you see my point. You cannot simplify modern life because modern life is expressly complex.

But enough about the unachievable goal of simplicity lets talk solitude for a while. I like to be alone. Until I AM alone. Then I like to have people around me. Until I am around people. Then they annoy me and prevent me from getting things done, and I like to be alone again. People were built for balance. Its like it says in Ecclesiastes “For everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” But balance has been something I personally have a hard time grasping. I strive for things to be all one way all the time. Until they are that way, then I am antsy and malcontent.

But I am not here to discuss what is wrong with life or with me personally. I am here to mention the way things SHOULD be. While this may not be a worthwhile goal, I find discovering solutions is slightly more productive than endlessly defining the problem. Balance. That’s the lesson for today. Make time for each and every one of the things that need your attention, and throw out the things that don’t. They distract. This is the best way to simplify that I can think of. And I’ve thought about it for a good five minutes now.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 9th, 2005 at 2:32 am and is filed under Comics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.