I’ve been thinking a lot lately about different kinds of simplicity. Simple things versus simple time, that kind of thing. Most guides to streamling your time suggest having multiple sets of things in different places – things like gym clothes, nail files, things that you use in different locations. But this entails having more possessions in total, because you wind up with duplicates of everything.
Do I really have to choose between simplicity of possessions and simplicty of time? Can’t I have both? (Trust me to want it all). And if not, why not?
It comes back to my innate reluctance to spend money on duplicates of stuff that will sit in a drawer collecting dust. Which, I freely admit, sits entirely at odds with my love of having new stuff. I am acquisitive, materialist, spendthrift and miserly at the same time. Much like most people I know. Hey, it keeps charity shops in business.
So: do I want to simplify my possessions or my schedule, and which option will better simplify my life? As I edit my wardrobe and books yet again, I face this dilemma, clueless.
If tidy cupboards mean tidy minds, and the minimalists are right that visible clutter is the enemy of concentration, clarity and peace, then it seems I must opt for simple things, and carry them with me.
I think this is the underlying principle of the iLife – to distil your physical possessions down to the contents of a carry-on, and trust in Google and The Cloud to keep your files and records safely on their servers. (This requires a faith in the corporations behind these web-based server solutions that I lack, technocynic that I am). I like the idea in principle, which does lean me towards the simple things choice, because I frequently fight the ruge to load up my bike and just go. Somewhere, anywhere – it’s about the journey, not the destination.
This is at odds with my distrust of big corporations ethics and security policies. I like to control my own files and records, I do not trust web-based server solutions not to get hacked or otherwise abused. I am impatient of boot-up, connection, down- and upload times as it is. I resent waiting for the computer to finish all its start-up routines before I can watch a simple DVD. This inclines me towards mutliple back-ups and devices, which lands me squarely in the simple time school of thinking.
Is there a way to have both simple things and simple time? Pratchett’s Lord Vetinari (bear with me) seems to be en route to achieving that – by simplifying his wardrobe, he simplifies his time spent on deciding what to wear. By simplifying his diet, he simplifies time spent on eating. Which frees up a vast amount of time to be spent on organising people to do things the way he wants by being themselves. This must mean a certain amount of duplication of, for example, clothes, but probably his wardrobe has plenty of space left in it, because a man like that would have no patience to waste on owning superfluous garments.
He is incredibly disciplined. He is ascetic to the nth degree and limits his options to limit the waste of his time. Which does seem to be rather boring – if variety is the spice of life, then Vetinari lives on bread and water. Could someone like me ever be that ascetic and yet still comfortable? (Probably not. I like my little luxuries, and I have a far more material definition of that word than does Lord Vetinari). Every time I try to hone things, I end up shopping. Clearly, I’m doing something wrong.
Maybe it’s easier to have both simple things and simple time if you have such a sense of purpose (remaining ruler of Ankh-Morpork, for instance). Maybe a simpler sense of purpose is the place to start – which implies a degree of narrative arc that life is far too messy to supply. Alas.
No comments:
Post a Comment