As I try to get from point A to B in modern Mumbai, there is nothing simple. There is, but there isn’t. The “is” rests on a simple premise – trust the driver. One gives a destination, asks enough questions to gain a degree of confidence in his understanding, and then sit back and trust. The “is not” is overwhelming! Routes are confusing. At times you backtrack or go in the opposite direction. Additionally, one must consider motorcycles, cows, people, kids, trucks, busses, and potholes.
The mornings schedule had five destinations. The first, third, and last were familiar. The sequence and everything else were new. As I enjoyed the ride, I realized that a key to complexity is absorbing it without prejudice. Rather than fight it, I looked for it. I asked questions, enjoyed the sight, sounds, and smells, and let the steps unfold naturally.
Complexity plays out in every aspect of our lives. Too often we try to know what we need to know before we are ready to know. My Mumbai trip reminds me that Life has a way of teaching us when we are ready. While it may be helpful and useful to know certain things earlier, we may not be ready. As an alternative, we can listen, absorb, and take what applies in the moment at hand.
An old teacher was working with a community. In an inclusive statement, he reached out to those that he had yet to address. “For the rest of you who are in mixed marriages—Christian married to non-Christian—we have no explicit command from the Master. So this is what you must do. If you are a man with a wife who is not a believer but who still wants to live with you, hold on to her. If you are a woman with a husband who is not a believer but he wants to live with you, hold on to him.” (1 Corinthians 7.12)
Complexity getting simpler as Life invited them into more. It is an invitation that continues to expand – in your life and mine.
