Trask Avenue

Complicating things is easy. Anyone can do it. It takes no special skills, no formal training. Hell, children master it and they are still in the early stages of development. However, simplifying things…now that is hard work. Boiling situations, problems, tasks, and processes down to their essence and then working to resolve them in a way which is both satisfactory and reasonable is a skill which often seems to be in short supply as we bounce around our lives. Children can be forgiven for adding complication since they often do so without an agenda. Adults have far fewer, if any, excuses.

Part of our urge to complicate arises from the harbinger of many of life’s difficulties: ego. Ego drives us to want to promote our position, our station, our impact, and our importance so others will see us in the same glorious light we see ourselves, so people can marvel at our intelligence, thoughtfulness, insight and wisdom. Or maybe we are just that insecure. Another weapon in our monstrous complicating arsenal is the not-so-subtle art of deflection. Not deflection in a Wonder Woman bracelet kind of way, which is pretty cool. At least she is working hard deflecting those bullets. No, we deflect, deflect, deflect until the situation resolves itself without us having to actually contribute anything or until everything gets so lost in a soupy haze of muddled distractions that people forget the original goal. Using powers of deflection we can turn the simple decision of choosing a dessert into a dissertation on the history, social implications and health benefits of a sweet treat after a meal. Even more cynically, perhaps our need to complicate is motivated by the age-old and dazzling human capacity to criticize and tear down. Let’s face it; criticizing is far less taxing than offering alternatives and rolling up our sleeves to overcome whatever situation lies before us. Being bulletproof is pretty easy when you never go to the streets.

It is staggering to think what could be accomplished simply by casting aside egos, deflection and criticism, and tossing laziness into the muddy ditch. The resulting world, one which is focused on moving forward with the modest goal of constant improvement for all, would be unrecognizable. The good news is if this fantasy world ever comes to fruition naming it would not be complicated. One has already been chosen: Utopia.