Mindfulness and Clarity: What's In Your Pot?

No matter how enthusiastically we embrace theconcept of simplifying our lives, things have a way of getting complicated.

Perfect example: My family sold nearly everything and moved to Mazatlan, Mexico to explore living with less stuff and more fun. And it's been working beautifully. It's amazing how much less there is toworry about when, well, you have less.

Here's my favorite equation: 6 people (4.5 drivers) x 0 cars = 0 car insurance/maintenance/gas/worries about being on the road

Now, that's some beautiful math.

Still, despite the simplicity of our daily routine, we all find little irritants to magnify.

In fact, we laugh every day about the ridiculous things we find to stress about. It's as though we NEED a bit of agitation--or we're still weaning ourselves from the go-go habit--so we stir it up from the dumbest things. And precisely becausewe have so few of these little stressors, theyare easy to see--and laugh about.

We joke about the fact that the thing my husband is most likely to get stressed about is the possibility that the door-to-door water bottle delivery guy--who comes on Tuesdays and Saturdays--MIGHT come a day late, necessitating a block-long walk to the corner tienda to pick up an extra bottle.

Bottled water is important, as our tap water is notdrinkable here in Mexico. In fact, there are dayswhen it comes out brown--which does wondersfor a load of white laundry, let me tell you.

Now, it is true that one time the water bottledelivery guy missed a Tuesday delivery. And yes, we ALMOST had to to get water. ALMOST. But not quite. We had enough.

Whew. That was a close one.

Another classic example: when we run out of coffee. If Tom notices that we have no more grounds in the bag in our freezer that morning, he makes a loud mental note that goes something along the lines of: "Dang it! We have to remember to get coffee today."

Several times during the day, he'll say, "Okay, after lunch, maybe we can go out and get coffee" or "Let's pick up some coffee on the way to Spanish class."

The place where we buy coffee is El Faro, a corner-facing storefront at which you walk up and get your espresso or ground coffee at the counter.

It is located approximately 50 yards from our front gate.

Now, to be fair, Tom still has plenty of Real-World worries. He is, after all, the father of four teenagenndaughters. He runs a company--virtually--with hundreds of customers/vendors. He has college bills to consider, kids scattered around the globe, and a fair number of extended family issues that arise.

But the daily stuff that used to fill our minds nnand suck our energy? That's gone. Or, if not nngone, then replaced by trivial things like worrying nnabout the water guy.

The value of simplicity is that it leads to clarity. It's as though you've got a big soup pot on the stove. You can fill it will all kinds of things, concocting a thick stew. Or, you can simmer abroth and add a few carefully chosen ingredients.

Now, the stew is rich and hearty. It's also thickand you've got to keep stirring it or else nnthere is going to be something burning nnon the bottom. It's so thick, in fact, that you nncan't really see everything at once--just whatever nnyou happen to stir up toward the top.

The broth, on the other hand, is clear. You can see right through it to every chunk of potato. Itis simple to see that nothing is burning on the bottom. You don't have to do a lot of stirringbecause it's all right there, easy to watch.

The stew has its advantages, sure. It's morecomplex and meatier. But it's also very time-consuming, both in preparing the ingredientsand in maintaining (stirring) it.

The broth is clear and simple. It's very satisfyingin a different way, because you can really appreciatethe flavors of the few things you've added. It's easy to make and takes no stirring.

So, the question is: are you cooking brothor stew?

If you're looking for clarity, consider the value ofgoing for the broth. It makes life so much easier.

We're seeing our soup quite clearly these days, and we're appreciating every tasty bite. Whenthe "coffee" potato or the "water guy" potatoshows up, at least we can see it for what it is and there's no danger that it will stick to the bottom and ruin the flavor of the whole pot.

Consider simplifying your soup, and you'll be creating room for clarity, comfort and comicrelief--and plenty of time to remember to get coffee.