Simplicity Defined

It's not so bad to be simple. Many refer to simplicity as slowness in understanding or lacking of intelligence, but they're overlooking its many other qualities that are good. Webster breaks up the term into three different categories: 1) Freedom from complexity or difficulty; 2) Freedom from ornament or ostentation; 3) And freedom from affection or hypocrisy. Therefore, simplicity should be analyzed as three separate forms: mental, physical and emotional.

To begin with, a mentally simple person is naïve and/or foolish. Don't assume that this is completely bad. Sure it is in some cases, but not necessarily in all. Take Ben, for instance; he can't for the life of him understand the sexual references in dirty jokes. Though his friends may pick on him for it, it's actually a good thing, because Ben, unlike his friends, doesn't have his head in the gutter. His thoughts are pure, so in this case, being naïve or mentally simple is a positive trait.

Then, on the other hand, there's Jennifer, who hadn't heard from her own mother in seven years. When she finally did hear from her mother, it was because Jennifer had gotten rich and famous. So naturally, her mother found time in her busy schedule to try to rekindle their relationship. She then proceeded to tell Jennifer a horrific lie about using Jennifer's money to buy the two of them an apartment so that they could be a family again. Jennifer, being the gullible girl that she was, believed this newfound-stranger and handed over all her money. Later, Jennifer realized that her mother had lied to her, taken all of her money and left her stranded. In this particular situation, foolishness or mental simplicity would be a negative feature, because Jennifer trusted someone who ended up taking advantage of her.

In addition, a physically simple person is humble and/or natural. These are positive attributes because they are comfortable with themselves and don't feel as though they need to hide behind make up or waste their paycheck on expensive clothes. They're just merely happy and content with the way they are. For example, Lucy would wear the same dress, her hair up in an easy-to-do ponytail and no makeup to every dance she had at school. She felt that it didn't matter what she looked like, just as long as she had a good time. Lucy is a positive model of simplicity, because fashion, money and vanity are of no matter to her. She knows what's really important and demonstrates it clearly.

Then, on the reverse side, is Rhonda, who has been tanning and dying her hair constantly since she was fifteen. Now, twenty years later, not only does she have skin cancer and so many wrinkles that you would mistake her for a 70-year-old woman, but her hair is a greenish color from generously dying it. If Rhonda hadn't dyed her hair so much or gone tanning so often, she probably would've had healthier skin and hair. Unfortunately, because of her insecurities, she made herself look uglier than she had portrayed herself to be in the first place.

To conclude, an emotionally simple person is sincere and/or honest. These are by far the most positive properties of simplicity. These people are true to their heart by not lying, cheating or provoking anyone. They just tell the truth and do what their conscience tells them is right. Mr. Richards is a perfect example of this. He didn't bring enough money to give his waitress a tip and felt incredibly bad about it. Then he remembered the lottery ticket that he'd just bought. Not thinking he would actually win, he promised her the choice of either double the tip or half of his winnings and she, assuming he wouldn't either, agreed on half of his winnings. To his surprise, that night he won four million dollars. After much contemplation, he went to the waitress the next morning and told her the truth about the amount of money he'd just won and gave her the two million dollars that he'd promised and left without any regrets. This is a very remarkable deed that Mr. Richards did. How many people would've lied about the money, saying that they'd only won ten dollars and kept the rest for themselves? Probably many, but not Mr. Richards; he was sincere and honest with the waitress and stayed true to his word.

Looking at it from a different perspective is Maria, who wanted her boyfriend Michael to propose to her. They were both too young and their parents would never agree to it, and besides Michael didn't even know if he loved her. Maria was sure she loved him though and knew that the only way she'd be able to get married at such a young age was if there was a really good reason to. So she lied to Michael and both of their families about being pregnant and in return got a forced proposal, which was basically what she wanted. Unluckily, when everyone found out that she had lied and wasn't pregnant, Michael handed her the divorce papers and her dreams were crushed. They say the truth will set you free and in this situation, the truth would have worked, but Maria didn't want to wait until she was old enough for a huge commitment, so she provoked her boyfriend into marrying her. This showed that she didn't have an ounce of simplicity in her soul, because if she did, she would have just told the truth or ended her relationship with Michael, realizing that it was the best thing for both of them.

Along with foolishness, artlessness and sincerity, simplicity is a personal trait of someone who isn't devious or crafty. Now after knowing this description, being simple actually seems like a really notable characteristic. But woefully, in today's society the majority of people are cunning, fake, showy and deceitful. With a little simplicity added to their lives, they could possibly become better people by being more naïve, natural, humble and honest.