Become Simple
We live in an increasingly complex environment. At times we're bewildered by moral choices that seem ever more gray and uncertain, such as those presented by stem-cell research or new definitions of gender identity. We're faced with a fast pace of living all around us that sucks us into its vortex - running from commitment to recreation to responsibility to entertainment so quickly that we wear ourselves out. Problems that have always vexed the world - hunger, poverty, disease, war, crime, pollution - now have become so complicated and dangerous that solutions seem impossible. We are working harder, more in debt, making ourselves unhealthy, becoming ever more dependent upon mood-altering drugs, and all the while sensing that the world around us is spinning out of control.

We know that a spiritual life helps us to cope with the complexity of our lives. Meditation and prayer relieve stress, we find support for our lives through relationships in community, and many are comforted by the traditional messages of hope in scripture: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (Psalm 23:1).

But a spiritual life also promises something more radical, in the true sense of the word: that is, going to the root, the core. Spirituality offers the possibility that we can actually become free from the destructive energy of a stressed-out life. Spirituality promises a kind of simplicity in the midst of our complex world.

--Brian Taylor
from "Become Simple"”
reprinted from Becoming Human

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