Simple is Better

I grew up with my siblings and neighbors playing syatong and tagu-anay (Hide and Seek) in the 1970s. When slambooks were the in thing we were familiar with “simplicity is beauty” as one’s motto in life. In our innocent minds, we have learned and recognized that life is simple.

Since then, many things have changed. Children no longer play syatong and tagu-anay, but online games with their virtual friends. Slambook is a thing of the past and life is no longer simple. Beauty has become relative. Life has become a rat race in trying to make both ends meet. Human beings have become human doings. The world has become materialistic.

However, in life, there are paradoxes. One of the contraindications in life is stated in Matthew 16:26: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul?” This was my wake-up call in 1999 when during a mass a priest empathically stressed this reality in life.

In my retreat-giving class, I learned that “less is more.” This principle tells us that in retreats and recollections, the fewer materials we give to retreatants, the more chances that God can speak to them. This is also true in life. Retreats after all are spiritual exercises to show what is necessary and what is not. We do not need so many possessions to tell the whole world that we have joy in our hearts.

After more than thirty years of college life, I often think of my batchmates in many parts of the world. I admit that there were times when I feel envious of how accomplished and rich they have become. However, I learned many lessons in life that tell me that all of us have different scripts and different missions. I also learned that “what I do not have now, I do not need now.” That’s contentment.

The “-ber” months are within our doorsteps. I am not so much of a Christmas person because I do not like the commercialism the season brings. In the past, instead of focusing on the birth of the Savior and His great love for us, we highlight Santa Claus, the gifts, the parties, and the merry-making. Every year, I silently wish that we can all have a spirit-filled Christmas season. And it was granted last year. God must have answered my prayer.

Cody James Howell stressed that “simplicity is the greatest virtue of all because it makes practicing every other virtue that much easier.” Plato also said that the greatest wealth is to live content with little. The present pandemic, they say, is a great equalizer. Both the rich and the poor have learned what is essential in life. No more fancy gatherings and unnecessary wants. Ang importante buhi! We have been opened to the needs of the poor.

Most people have realized what is basic in life and that, indeed, simple is better.

(Dr. Nelson de Castro Magnaye is a dentist by profession. Armed with a Master’s degree in Family Ministry & Counseling from the Ateneo de Manila University, he is currently a guidance advocate at the Ateneo de Davao University. He is also a recollection facilitator and motivational speaker. He may be reached at ndmagnaye@gmail.com)