I love that this week’s theme is simplicity. Elon gave great ideas to try out, though it’s easier when I’m home in Maine. Not too hard to dress the same way or not spend when I’m home :) Simplicity feels like a great virtue. Less clutter, more focus on our needs and what matters. Freedom from dwelling on the past and from demanding too much of the future. That all tracks.
But then I read a piece about the spies. Moses sends 12 spies to the promised land of Canaan. They come back terrified. “The people are giants. We seemed like grasshoppers. We can’t do this.”
On the surface, it reads like fear of failure. But the argument is that they actually feared success. They preferred the desert. Manna fell from heaven. God’s presence was clear. Life was simple. They didn’t want the complexity of real life: the farming, economics, politics, and all things messy about human civilization.
My takeaway? Simplicity is a tool, not the destination. The question isn’t whether to simplify. It’s what you’re simplifying towards. Are you hiding, or are you clarifying?