Third, I believe in the simplicity on the far side of complexity.
The simplicity this side of complexity is naive and foolish. This kind of simplicity wants neat answers with no remainders, shuts its eyes to inconvenient truths, and trades in polite lies.
The simplicity that is on this side of complexity is not worth a bucket of warm spit.
This is because life doesn’t easily provide neat answers, is full of inconvenient truths, and resists pat answers and platitudes.
It’s good, therefore, to move beyond the simplicity that lies on this side of complexity and to make your way into complexity itself.
But it’s not good to stay there. When you reach complexity, you need to keep going until you come out the other side.
You see, there is a simplicity on the far side of complexity that acknowledges that while life is certainly grey—not black and white—and certainly mysterious, there is still solid ground to stand on once you reach the other side.
You’ll know when you’ve reached the simplicity on the far side of complexity when you’ve examined all the hard questions and inconvenient details and come up with an answer that includes those things and yet provides clarity and a way forward.
Hot water from the tap is a simplicity that lies on the far side of complexity. Think of all the difficulties that have to be acknowledged and overcome to produce that everyday miracle of civilization.
The Constitution of the United States is a simplicity that lies on the far side of complexity. Think of all the insights into human nature that had to be acknowledged and overcome to produce that remarkable document.
“Here I stand: I can do no other.” Martin Luther’s famous declaration is a simplicity that lies on the far side of complexity. Think of all the wrestlings with God through an untold number of sleepless nights it cost Luther before he had the kind of clarity for which he was willing to die.
The simplicity on the far side of complexity can be big or small; it can be life-and-death or just a bit of everyday insight; it can be the result of centuries of slow technological advances (like the iPhone) or it can come flashing forth from revelation (like the Great Commandment).
But in whatever form it comes, it’s always beautiful and compelling.
And the simplicity on the far side of complexity is worth whatever it costs to learn.
