Yet, with this way of thinking although things may seem apparently simple and straightforward, I recognise completely that they are also innately and irrevocably complex. Take physics for example. The concept of gravity is pretty much undeniably simply - things go up and they come down. It's literally child's play. Yet, underlying that there's laws of physics and maths sums, which all go within that simple concept, which are the reason behind the simplicity, which makes it paradoxically complex.
I think it's therefore appropriate to view the world holding these two things in a tangible balance. That is, seeing things in a simple and straightforward manner, yet still being able to appreciate the difficult or complicated reasons behind things.
I like to observe the interaction between people, and in terms of human relationships, I'll see couples walking past and I'll look at them and assume, "Oh, they're happily married," or "First date!" or any other reasonable assumption, yet underneath all that I'll still attempt to interpret the actual reality of their situation, usually based on their interaction; such as the way they talk to each other and their body language, and due to the plethora of psychological interpretations, this means it could take hours to actually try to understand the emotions people are trying to convey, and the emotions they're actually conveying (as a lot of the time, wires get crossed and confusion sets in).
Yet although these physical prompts of these couples could perhaps give a deeper insight into the nature of their relationship, it is only really scraping the surface due to the fallibility of interpretation; that is, I could interpret all these signals in the completely wrong way, or the couple themselves could be sending out signals which they unintended to. Figuring out the real meaning of other people's relationships isn't the point I am trying to illustrate, rather the fact that things are not as simple as they seem, especially within the context of human relationships, which are complex for so many reasons. I don't think judging other people's relationships is the aim here, it's simply an example I've utilised to illustrate the complexity behind things which seem inherently simple.
Viewing the world in simple terms has both benefited and hindered the progress in my world view, and also in relationships with other people. In terms of the benefits, seeing things simply makes one's world view much less stressful, and to see things as objectively as possible gives clarity and definition to the world and one's experience within it. Yet of course people can never truly be completely objective, and so possessing an "objective" world view within the context of subjective interaction of human relationships is inevitably going to cause some conflict! My simple world view has often been called naive or ridiculous, yet it's got me through things pretty well, yet got me into some bother at others. So this is where I adopted the intertwining of complexity within simplicity - retaining the simple aspect to life's experience, yet consistently appropriating the complex elements in their own compartment within simplicity's wardrobe.
You can try and be as idealistic as you want, but life will never deal you the right hand of cards at all possible moments, and you'll be surprised at the way people perceive you, the way you think they should perceive you, and indeed your own view of your behaviour and thoughts. This in itself is a complex network of human emotions, reasoning and intellect, yet the simple embodiment behind all that is that we are all human, and whether or not we interpret things correctly, or say the right things, or do the right things; although they all have their appropriate context, are neither here nor there in the grand scheme of things. This might seem like a get-out clause, or an excuse to adopt transgressive behaviour, yet maturity must be taken within this line of thought, and judgement is not the issue within this. Save that for the law courts, (which are inherently flawed as they try to place objective realities upon subjective situations, yet that's another post!)
I am only suggesting that behind every complex action is a simple reason, and within every simple concept there are complex workings. It's a paradox I'm not entirely sure anyone will ever master, but we can only try.
"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
― Confucius
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