I think sometimes we try to get too fancy by complicating things that are inherently uncomplicated. Maybe we like the drama or distraction, or maybe we don’t like the answers we get, so we do an intricate dance around them. As adults we think we should be so sophisticated, but endlessly trying to twist something until it’s palatable only frustrates us and muddies the water. In order to see more clearly we need to simplify. It’s just like Aesop’s fables, the simplest stories teach us the most complicated lessons. We don’t need all the bells and whistles to dress up the simple truth, we just have to be comfortable with the reality of what is. And the best way to do that is by letting go of the extravagant side stories.

As with any learning curve understanding comes in increments. The whole story can’t be told in one sentence, we need the set up in order to get the punchline. If I knew anything about basketball I’d say it’s like the perfect screen shot and the teamwork needed to score the winning point, the one who sacrifices is just as important as the one who scores. But maybe I shouldn’t complicate the point I’m trying to make with things I don’t know much about. Let’s just say we need to know the smaller whys before we can build up to deeper connections that shift our understanding, and that both matter equally. In order to build towards this new understanding about what’s going on outside of us we need to be clear about what is happening on the inside.

For this we need to take a trip to the underworld. That place of shadow within ourselves where everything is not quite what it seems. It’s there we do the sorting, we maneuver in the darkness in order to bring up the treasure within us that will illuminate more of our daily consciousness. Think Snow White, it’s no coincidence the seven dwarves worked in a gem mine, in fact it’s a rather straightforward metaphor for the interior work, we go into the cave of our inner selves and mine for diamonds. Thankfully the underworld lives within us in a truthful, if at times frightening, way. There is fear, rage, honor, and beauty, all things good and bad that are the hardest to look at. We may think we are only afraid to own what’s worst in us, but it’s just as scary to own what’s best in us. When we can bear to peek inside we see the truth of ourselves for all we are, and that simple truth ultimately has the power to heal and set us free.

We start from the inside. That glimmer of the darker truth comes by just being honest with ourselves. We are not perfect and can really make a mess of things, but it’s the dance we do around the discomfort that obfuscates things. When we try to complicate the answers we find we get lost in embellishment and miss the lesson. It’s not the things that frighten us the most that are the scariest but our refusal to see them, accept them, and own them. The soul likes it simple, we don’t need games to skew the truth, what we need is courage. Simplicity always requires honesty, even when it hurts, and only clarity can cut through the complications.

Let’s remember that it’s okay to be scared and it’s okay not to have all the answers. We’re on the quest to gain deeper understanding and make curious connections, not to have it all figured out.

Take this simple truth with you, there is deep joy in the search.

kb