Back To School (Of Life)

Discovering the Simple Path in the School of Life as a New School Year Begins

As we bid farewell to the long, leisurely days of summer, it's that time again to pack our children's school bags and send them off on yet another year of learning and growth. However, let's not forget that our education, often referred to as the 'school of life,' continues alongside their journey.

Life, with its inherent complexity, provides us with invaluable lessons in every passing moment. Yet, as adults, we often burden ourselves with unnecessary complexities, making our path heavier than it ought to be. It's reminiscent of the delicate balance between nuance and detail, where isolation can obscure the subtleties, and overemphasis on nuance may lead to neglecting essential details.

Consider the duality of life, where every aspect has its counterpart. We seek results, but we must also chart a deliberate path toward them, knowing that success cannot exist without its counterpart, failure. In our quest for perfection, we may overlook the beauty of imperfection, and without the heat, there can be no cold.

Just as focusing solely on topical skincare may isolate us from the nuances of internal well-being and end up affecting back to the outer layer. Without our kids, we wouldn’t have grown. Without being Atypical, we wouldn’t have learned more aspects in life.

Dao and Virtue's simplicity can be misunderstood if we disregard the nuances of Yin Yang (in Chinese, say Yin Yang, not Yin and Yang, there’s no “and”), which always exist in pairs. In life, we set goals, but there are inevitable trade-offs, decisions to make, and paths to choose.

This is why we must pause, make space, think, discern, and make choices. Each new beginning offers an opportunity to remake our choices, much like the start of a school year.

Simplifying life isn't synonymous with ease, nor is it about discarding all material possessions (like the trend of getting rid of all things yet they are piled back up in no time). It's an attitude toward life, a way of living that allows us to shed the layers that no longer serve us, much like removing unnecessary weight from our backs and shoulders.

As we continue to evolve, so do the things, people, and surroundings around us. It's during these times that simpler living can provide us with the precious gift of time and space to pause, reflect, and discern.

Remember, simplicity doesn't equate to easiness; it's a deliberate choice to live with clarity in a complex world. As life is complex to began with, why add on silly things in life and being frustrated or worried about?

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