Programmed Responses

Because the Brian Andreas quote that serves as the tag line (and hence also provides the title) of this blog includes talk of things being simple, many have assumed that this will be a blog all about trying to achieve simplicity. In part, that is true. However, it has really been the first part of the Andreas quote about learning to tell the truth about what makes me happy that has served as the impetus not only for this blog, but for new ways of thinking as I enter, what I presume will be, the second half of my life.

For those who have never experienced difficulties in telling the truth about what makes them happy, it may seem as though it should be a no-brainer to clearly communicate one's feelings, hopes, and desires. And, they would be right, I suppose ... it should be something that comes instinctively. But, at least for me, that has not always been the case. Whether from nature or nurture, I do not know, but I seem to have programmed responses that circumvent such a truth/happiness mechanism. For example, even when I have convinced myself that if I am asked the following questions I will respond truthfully, when I am actually asked, the following responses seem to automatically spew forth, almost, as it were, involuntarily:

Are you mad? No.
What's wrong? Nothing.
What do you want to do? I don't care.
Did that hurt your feelings? No, of course, not.
Are you okay? Yes.

Sometimes these answers are, in fact, truthful. But, clearly, they cannot be true all the time ... and, yet, they are the answers that naturally come flowing out of my mouth. So, just like the person in Andreas' story ... I am trying to realize the life shift that can occur when I learn to tell the truth about what makes me happy ... or, more precisely, when I learn to answer the kinds of questions listed above truthfully ... when the truthful response becomes as second nature as the programmed responses.

I am eagerly looking forward to the day when I can say in tandem with my blog title and tagline: "I never knew it could be that simple."