Simple Gifts

I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos featuring successful, wealthy, and fairly well-known people lately. Some are young entrepreneurs who have made millions by their thirties, and others are various ages and younger versions of Tony Robbins. All ‘experts’ in their field. I’ve been struck by a common theme that seems to emerge in every discussion.
These people have struggled, made a lot of money, had their ups and downs, and in the end come to the conclusion that not only does money not buy happiness, but being ‘the one’ is full of illusions that seem to constantly glitter in front of their eyes.

They are all driven by a lack of deep understanding of what they really want. I was amazed how these neurosurgeons and other authors of best-selling books on ‘How To Make A Million”, “Find True Love”, “ Your Brains Secret Power”, “How to Win at Everything You Touch” etc. still seem to be ‘searching’ for something.
They keep running after the prize. But the target keeps moving. It’s never about the catch, in the end, it seems to always be about the chase. It got me thinking about my own successes and failures.

The one thing I have always run back to was simplicity. Even when I had fancy homes, cars, and more money than I knew what to do with, it was always simple things that won my heart. Playing the dulcimer, cooking a great meal, being with a good friend, scratching my dog’s ears. The struggle of getting noticed in the overcrowded world of Facebook, LinkedIn, and others are simply exhausting. I like deep conversations with people. I like one on one. I don’t need nor desire to be a rock star of whatever business or thing I entertain.

One day it will all vanish. What will I leave the world? For me, it is mostly a lot of good music, and perhaps a few books I’d like to think. That alone is enough, or could I do more?

What will you leave the world? What drives you? What really matters? What is ‘enough’?
A friend of mine has a beautiful home in California and lives by himself. He spends most of his time in two rooms. One is his office, the other the bedroom. When he has company, he entertains in his living room and open kitchen, but that is less frequently these days. He told me he could live in a one-room apartment ‘just -fine’. His house is probably worth close to a million. “It gets lonely,” he told me.

I know a few who have sold their homes and lived alone in the woods contemplating life. Some go to India and sit on mountain tops, others do it in the silence of their studio apartments. What is “IT” that we all essentially are truly searching for?
Where is the joy?” There is a song called Simple Gifts. Great words to ponder.

“Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free
Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be
And when we are in the place just -right
We will be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained
To bow and the bend we will not be ashamed
To turn, turn will be our delight
For by turning, turning, we come ‘round right”.

In the end, it is pretty simple, isn’t it?
Kevin