by Rev. Dale Turner

Finding a way to live simply is one of life's most complicated problems. Each day is filled with more to do than we are able to get done. Before we can do what we want to do, there is always something else we have to do.

One reason we can't achieve simplicity is that we clutter our lives with more than we need.

I tip my hat to those who work in merchandising. It is a competitive and demanding profession. Yet I believe Americans have no idea how we are debauched by the incessant clatter to buy.

Many of us succumb to those pressures, spending money we don't have to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't like. We spend our leisure time taking care of all those things we didn't want in the first place.

John Stuart Mill, the brilliant English philosopher, said, "I've learned to seek my happiness in limiting my desires rather than by attempting to satisfy them."

Perhaps, then, one way to simplify life would be to divest ourselves of all we do not need. Benevolent organizations remind us of the need for clothing, bedding and books that now only clutter our closets or attics. It is easy to buy new things. Only a strong person can give old things away.

The quest for the simple life is further deterred by our having built an altar to energy and made activity our god. Like humorist Stephen Leacock's famous rider, we get on our horse and ride off in all directions, with speed the highest authority.

Impatience - waiting in a hurry - is an American disease. Our prayer is, "O God, please give me patience and I want it right now!"

Philosopher Eric Hoffer reminds us that the hurried feeling is not usually the result of living the full life and having no time. It is born of a vague fear we are wasting our lives, missing something.

That is not to say we should condemn hard work. Yet if we live with every day planned and every hour filled, nature rebels. The body revolts by decreasing our efficiency or erasing our skills.

I cannot believe that God gave us this good life intending that we never live it. Yet it is possible to do just that - to forget there is a time to play as well as a time to work. It is interesting, however, that even when we do relax we spend our time watching others dash down a basketball court or slam into foes on a football field. We need time to be still - to sit, to reflect, to absorb, to enjoy and to learn.

There is much to learn in studying Jesus' life. He did not rush through Palestine so bent on his mission that he could not enjoy the scenery, but rather stopped to play with children, shared the joys of festive occasions and reveled in the beauty of nature. He counseled against bankrupting our todays by paying interest on the regrets of yesterdays or borrowing the trouble of tomorrow.

There is a prayer worth praying daily:

"Slow me down, Lord. Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with the vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me amidst the confusion of my day the calmness of the everlasting hills. Teach me the art of taking minute vacations - of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pet a dog, to read a few lines from a good book. Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soul of life's enduring values."

October 16, 2004 The Seattle Times